Till Death Do Us Part
by OTHBrucas
Summary: Sequel to I'll Love You Forever...make sure you read that...and its a Brucas love story, ofcourse...FILLED with fluff! COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1

Eight long years had passed since Alexis had gotten married to Matthew McNally and moved to California. She was still in California, a little happier than she was 8 years ago about California.

Brooke and Lucas Scott had to face the horrible prospect of 40 looming over their heads in three short years. Both were 37, happy, and still madly in love. Their brood of children had definitely grown since the wedding.

There was Madison, of course, who was now 11, going on 12, as she liked to say. Her and Brooke were insanely tight, tighter than any other mother and daughter…they had a very "Gilmore Girls" relationship going on. Madison was an exceptional student at school and on top of that, had an uncanny eye for fashion. One of Lucas's teammates on the basketball team had a wife who was a fashion designer for a big company, and Madison had landed an internship. Despite her baby sister in the house, she was still Lucas's princess and his firstborn.

Then, there was Lucas's pride and joy, Hayden Matthew Scott. 8 years old and already a handsome jock, he was a daddy's boy and Lucas's carbon copy. Tall, lanky, blue eyes, blonde hair, and a shapely face, Hayden was a charmer. He was also brooder, like Lucas, and extremely quiet and congenial. Brooke and him had a funny relationship that no one could decipher, and no one tried to. There were some things that he would only tell Brooke. Surprisingly, him and Madison were unnaturally close.

Last but not least, the baby of the family, 5 month old Lena Ariadne. She didn't have a personality yet, but she was a perfect mix of Lucas and Brooke, unlike Madison, who was a carbon copy of Brooke. She had blonde hair and twinkling hazel eyes, and she was definitely Brooke and Lucas's baby.

The other Scott brood…Haley and Nathan. Also 37, they had two kids…Anthony, who was 12, Nathan's mini me and rivaled even Nathan at basketball. He was an exceptional basketball player. Him and Nathan had the whole father-son thing going on.

Then there was the baby, Nathan's princess, Haley's best friend, 9 year old Angelina Taylor. She was a petite, thin, pretty girl with Nathan's eyes and dark hair, but Haley's patience and motherly attitude.

And who could forget the Jageilskis? Jenny was big, 21 years old and living on her own. She was frequently at her mother and father's home, being attached at the hip to Catherine and Peyton. Catherine was a cute 12 year old, Peyton's mini me, and then there was their boy, Mason Alexander. He was a cute, fun loving 4 year old and Jake's pride and joy.

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"Lena…sweetie…why do you have to wake up at the crack of dawn?" Brooke grumbled, going over to Lena's bedroom and picking the wailing little girl up.

"Good morning mom" Madison yawned, walking into Lena's bedroom and taking her from Brooke and kissing her.

"What's so good about it?" Brooke asked.

"PMSing mom?" Madison asked, laughing.

"Yes" Brooke said, giggling herself. "Good morning Maddie…why are you up at the crack of dawn my late sleeper?" Brooke asked, hugging her daughter.

"I couldn't sleep" Madison yawned again. "Where's daddy?"

"Still sleeping" Brooke grumbled, taking Lena back from Madison and changing her quickly.

"Daddy!" Madison yelled, waking Lucas up.

"Madison…" Lucas grumbled.

"Daddy…" she giggled, climbing into bed and throwing the covers off of him.

"I'm up, I'm up…where's Hayden?"

"In the kitchen, reading like always" Madison rolled her eyes and hugged her father. He kissed the top of her head and grabbed his robe.

"And where's my little baby?" he said softly, seeing Lena and Brooke emerge from the room, Lena looking like a baby model.

"Here" Brooke giggled, kissing Lena and handing her to Lucas, and then kissing him. They sat down at the breakfast table, their breakfast ready because of Martha, whom they still had as a live in housekeeper.

"Good morning Hayden" Lucas laughed. Hayden looked up from his book and smiled.

"Hey dad" he said, putting the book down. "Mom…Maddie…hey Lenny" he said, seeing Brooke, Madison and Lena.

"My baby boy" Brooke laughed, blowing him a kiss. Hayden laughed and grabbed a muffin from the basket.

"So guys, what are we doing today?"

"Well! I have to work on the skirt for the design company…I'll need your help with that mom" Madison said.

"Of course" Brooke said.

"Basketball, dad- one on one"

"You're on kiddo…and what is Lenny gonna do today?" Lucas asked the little baby, tickling her.

"Lenny's gonna help mommy and me with the skirt aren't you baby?" Madison cooed. Madison and Lena got along really well and Madison LOVED Lena. Come to think of it, everyone loved Lena. She was the sweetest baby ever and extremely quiet. That made Brooke smile more than anything else, seeing Madison and Hayden being nice to Lena. When she had found out she was pregnant with her, she was afraid Madison and Hayden, especially Hayden, who had been the baby for 7 years, would be resentful. But Lena was a lovable baby.

"You think your baby sister is gonna help you with designing a skirt, teddy bear?" Lucas asked.

"She can help!" Madison laughed. "And don't call me teddy bear…" Madison groaned. "I'm almost 12!"

"Maddie, you just turned 11" Brooke laughed. "But don't call her teddy bear, she gets embarrassed in front of her boyfriend" Brooke winked.

"Ugh? Conrad?" Lucas asked, getting a death glint in his eye.

"Yah! You met him when I was 3" Madison giggled. "Don't be mad daddy…he's cute, and sweet"

"Ew…Madison's love life" Hayden said, scrunching his nose and popping a cherry in his mouth.

"Hayden, Madison doesn't HAVE a love life" Lucas defended vehemently. "And Lena will never ever date…ever"

"That's what you said when Madison was 5 months old" Brooke laughed.

"I mean it this time" Lucas laughed, cleaning up the area. "Come on Hayden lets go so I can kick your ass at basketball"

"You're on dad!" Hayden said. Lucas chased Hayden out the door.

"Your daddy is so silly" Brooke cooed to Lena. She giggled and stretched out her fingers to Brooke, who kissed them and picked up the little girl. "Ok Lenny go with your sister while mama cleans up and then we can help Maddie" Brooke giggled, handing Lena to Madison, who carried the baby carefully to her room and put her on the bed. Brooke walked in ten minutes later.

"Ok so what are we going for?"

"We're going for classy and elegant" Madison said, unrolling her sketches.

"So what were you thinking?" Brooke said, examining the sketch closely.

"See, I wanted to tier the skirt and have a bow on the side…I think it's very girly and definitely something I would wear" Madison explained. Lena cooed and giggled.

"I think she likes the idea!" Brooke giggled. "But Maddie…that skirt is so…long"

"Mom…"

"It IS! That's totally un-sexy" Brooke whined. "Maddie…"

"Mom…wow" Madison giggled. "I'll make it shorter"

"You better…no nuns in this house"

"You are definitely the coolest mom ever" Madison said. "Most moms would freak out if I made a short skirt"

"Well…I'm good like that" Brooke laughed, high fiving Madison.

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"Angelina…" Nathan said

"Dad…what?" Angelina looked up from helping Haley bake brownies.

"Smile!" he said, taking a picture. "How are my two favorite girls?"

"Good" Haley said, kissing him. Angelina giggled and continued poking chips into Haley's freshly baked cookies.

"Mm can I have a cookie?" Anthony said, walking in with his authentic signed Lebron James ball.

"NO!" Haley and Angelina yelled.

"Sorry…Angie"

"Hi Anthony" she said. Anthony was an insanely overprotective brother and always made sure his sister was ok. It was actually kind of cute.

"When can we have the cookies?" Anthony laughed.

"Soon, hopefully…your mother and sister can cook good" Nathan said. "How's the jump shot?"

"Better…I'm working on it"

"Ok that's good" Nathan said, clapping Anthony on the shoulder.

"Daddy…me and mom saw this Coach purse…" Angelina said, hugging her dad.

"Whatever it is, you can get it, princess" Nathan said, kissing the top of her head.

"Hey what about me?" Haley asked.

"My wife? I'd buy you the world" Nathan laughed, winking. Haley giggled and motioned for Angelina to take the brownies out of the oven.

"Anthony…do you want a cookie?"

"Sure short stuff" he said, taking a cookie from Angelina.

"Like it?" she asked.

"Love it…uh mom…are we gonna see Madison and uh…Catherine today?" he asked.

"Yah, we're going to Brooke's today" Haley said, giving him a knowing look. Anthony smiled sheepishly and looked down at his cookie.

"Catherine! Maddie! And little Lenny" Angelina said, excited at the prospect of seeing her two "big sisters" and her "little sister".

"That kid is precious" Nathan said. "Lena? She has an interesting name, Brooke is queen of weird names…Madison, Hayden, and Lena" he laughed.

"They're all nice names though" Haley commented. "They fit the children well"

"Yah…Lena Ariadne…wasn't Ariadne a Greek person?" Nathan asked.

"Ariadne is a character in Greek mythology" Haley said. "Brooke loves weird names"

"Yah…well Angelina Taylor is simple and nice" Nathan laughed.

"Taylor after Aunt Tay!" Angelina said. Taylor, Haley's older sister, was Angelina's favorite. "What does my name mean?"

"It means little angel…cause you're our little angel" Haley said, letting Angelina climb into her arms.

"I'm daddy's little angel too, right?"

"Of course" Nathan said, kissing the little girl.

"When are we going to aunt Brookes?" Anthony asked.

"In an hour"

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"Mommyyyyyyy…I'm home" Jenny yelled.

"Hey Jenny! Long time no see…college treating you well?" she asked, seeing her full grown daughter.

"Yah" Jenny laughed, hugging her mother. "I missed you"

"You too darling" Peyton laughed.

"Jenny!" Catherine yelled, sliding in, her curly blonde hair swinging everywhere.

"Baby sis…how are you holding up?"

"With you gone at college? Not so good…but I do have some juicy gossip" she said. Jenny's face lit up and Peyton looked up intently. "Gossip that mom CANT hear"

"Aw…at least Mason loves me" she sighed.

"I loves you mommy" Mason giggled, popping a cheerio in his mouth.

"Thanks" Peyton laughed, blowing him a kiss.

"Come on" Catherine said, dragging Jenny to her room. "Ok…so I get to see Anthony today"

"Anthony Scott? Ooh…someone's got a little crush" Jenny giggled.

"No! Ok…so I do…I hope he likes me too" Catherine said. "And it might be weird, we grew up like brother and sister, and its gone farther than that" Catherine sighed. "I need tips, seeing as you have a gorgeous boyfriend"

"I'll tell you what to do when we're there" Jenny giggled. "Ah…my baby sister has a crush- this is exciting- we have to celebrate"

"That I like someone?" Catherine laughed.

"I just wanna spend daddy's money" Jenny said, a little too loud.

"Jenny…my firstborn" Jake laughed, hugging his daughter. "And my spoiled princess" he said, hugging Catherine. "How's college?"

"Good" Jenny said. "I have a boyfriend"

"What? No!"

"Yes, daddy" she laughed.

"Ugh...is he nice?"

"Very" Catherine said.

"You're in on this?" he asked Catherine, shocked.

"Dad, we're sisters, of course I'm in on this" Catherine laughed. "We talk WAY more than you think we do" Jake scratched his head and laughed.

"Ok well we're supposed to be at Brooke's in 30 minutes, so lets get ready"

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"Lenny…look over here" Madison laughed, holding up her digital camera.

"Lenny…look at Maddie or mommy" Brooke laughed. Lena was sitting up against the pillow and babbling to herself.

"Whatever, I'll just take the picture" Madison laughed. She snapped the picture and the doorbell rang. Madison picked Lena up and her and Brooke went to answer the door.

"We're here!" the two families walked in.

"Catherine! Anthony" Madison said, hugging them both. Catherine and Anthony awkwardly hugged and then looked away.

"Lenny, cutie pie" Catherine cooed. Jenny hugged Madison, Lena, and Anthony.

"Lena, how about you go with daddy or Uncle Nathan so I can go with Catherine and Anthony?" Madison asked, kissing Lena and handing her to Nathan. Lena didn't seem to notice and Madison shrugged and led Catherine and Anthony up to her room.

"So guys…what's new?" she asked.

"Nothing"

"Mm"

"You guys ok?" Madison asked. She looked from Catherine to Anthony, and born with Brooke's sharp senses, she immediately recognized awkwardness.

"Catherine, can I talk to you for a second?" Madison asked, dragging her best friend to the closet. "Do you like Anthony?" she asked.

"Yes, shh"

"Ooh that would make me your sister in law kind of!" Madison shrieked.

"Madison shut up!" Catherine said, clamping her hand over Madison's mouth.

"Sorry…this is cool though" Madison giggled. They emerged from the closet.

"What was that about?" Anthony asked, laughing.

"Oh nothing" Madison sighed. "So big cousin…where's your younger counterpart?" she asked. "I haven't seen Angelina all day!" she said. "Angie!" she called. Angelina came running up with Hayden, whom she was best friends with.

"Maddie! Catherine!" she said, jumping on the bed and hugging them both.

"My almost little sister…how are you? Looking hot" Madison laughed.

"Thanks…I got a new Barbie yesterday"

"Another one?" Madison laughed.

"Her name is Lilly"

"Oh…name one that's pretty Madison, ok?" Madison laughed. Hayden gagged and Madison smirked at him.

"Anthony…come on, lets play basketball…the girls are talking about dolls" Hayden gagged. Anthony laughed and followed his younger cousin out the door.

"So you really like Anthony?" Madison asked once they were alone.

"Yes!" Catherine said, burying her head in the pillow.

"Ugh…well he's my cousin, but, that's hot"

"What are you, Paris Hilton?" Catherine laughed.

"No I'm my mother"

"Good point"

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"Broody…" Brooke whispered. Lucas looked up and kissed her when he saw her wide smile.

"Hey Cheery…you look beautiful as usual"

"Why thank you sexy" she said, kissing Lucas.

"Guys…" Peyton whined.

"Sorry" Lucas laughed, entwining his hands with Brooke's underneath the table. It had been 11 years and yet, they were still as romantic as they were when they were in high school. Lucas felt like Brooke made his heart jump every time he looked at her, and every time Brooke kissed him, she felt like it was her first time. Lucas looked down at her and kissed her hair softly. That simple gesture never got old.

"Lucas…" Brooke whispered. "Later" Lucas laughed and nodded.

"Ok, so guess what?" Peyton giggled.

"What?" Haley asked.

"My daughter is vibing on your son"

"Ooh! Madison did not tell me about this…" Brooke whispered, making a mental note to ask her.

"Well they'd be cute together" Haley commented.

"Hey! No dating" Jake grumbled.

"I hear you man" Lucas said.

"My 9 year old doesn't date, thank god" Nathan sighed.

"She will soon enough" Brooke said. Nathan got a vehemently defendant look on his face, but then got over it.

"Children…" Brooke laughed.

"Mommy…Lena's whiny" Madison said, bouncing her baby sister gently, exasperated.

"Lenny…are you being difficult for Madison?" Brooke cooed, taking the baby girl from Madison and kissing her. Lena just kept on whining and Brooke kept on bouncing the little girl, checking her diaper and the clock for her feedings.

"Come here baby girl" Lucas said, taking Lena from Brooke and kissing her tenderly. "Daddy's baby girl will be ok, right princess?" Lucas said, rubbing her back. Lena instantly quieted and her little eyes fluttered.

"You've got to teach me that trick, daddy" Madison laughed. She turned around to leave but Lucas called her name.

"Hey Madison, thanks for watching her"

"Yah baby doll you really helped out" Brooke smiled. Brooke and Lucas were afraid Madison was getting neglected in shadow of Lena, but Madison constantly reassured them that she didn't feel neglected at all.

"No problem Mom…I love Lenny…bye baby" Madison cooed, kissing Lena and walking up the stairs.

"That girl is a force of nature" Karen sighed. "My grandchild…so big"

"Hey grandma I'm big!" Anthony said.

"My first grandchild…even bigger" she laughed.

Everyone stayed the rest of the day and for dinner. After putting Lena to bed, Brooke and Lucas played a board game with Madison and Hayden, and those two fell asleep as well.

"Brooke…" Lucas said, kissing her.

"Wait till the kids are asleep, Lucas!" Brooke giggled.

"No…Brooke" Lucas laughed.

"Someone's horny today" Brooke said.

"No you just look beautiful" he said.

"Ooh well played" Brooke giggled, pushing him back on the bed and kissing him, blowing out the candle and yanking the chain to shut the light off.

**A/N: Ok! SO first chapter of the sequel…WOOT! It sucks, I know, but I'm so used to Maddie being little and Brucas and Naley and Jeyton being young and it'll take a while for the story to flow lol…so, the Catherine and Anthony attraction isn't weird, is it? Beause I would hate like end up sounding like there's sketchy things going on lol…they're not related though…! REVIEW!**


	2. Family Time

**A/N: Woot…it was my first day of school today…yah! I already got tons of homework lol! So please bear with the lack of updates and the chapters that suck…**

"Bye mom!" Madison and Hayden chorused.

"Bye Maddie, bye Haydie! I love you! Don't have too much fun and be good for Haley!" Brooke called over her shoulder, blowing her two children kisses.

"I'll report to you on the gossip…I'll call from my cell if it's major" Madison winked. Brooke gave her a thumbs up and blew another kiss to Hayden, who looked utterly embarrassed but had a subtly pleased look on his face.

"That was too easy" Brooke giggled, kissing Lena. "Wasn't it Lenny, baby?"

"Brooke, that's horrible!" Lucas laughed, kissing her and then Lena. "But now we get to spend time with our baby" he said, kissing Lena again and taking her from her mother.

"I think she needs her diaper changed" Brooke said, leading the way to the room that had been redecorated for Lena.

"Ok…baby do you miss Maddie? And Haydie?" Lucas asked, laughing and kissing her. Lena cooed contentedly and grabbed Lucas's shirt.

"Aw she's so cute" Brooke giggled. "My baby, of course"

"Hey! She's mine too"

"I gave birth to her" Brooke said indignantly.

"True" Lucas said, handing Lena to Brooke, who changed her.

"Omg Lucas lets draw a mustache on her" Brooke laughed, taking a soft tipped pen and drawing a mustache on Lena.

"Brooke! Are you sure that wont hurt her skin?" Lucas said.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, right baby?" Brooke said, taking a red marker and drawing red cheeks on Lena. Lucas burst out laughing and ran to get his camera. They took several pictures of Lena, who looked utterly confused at her parent's strange behavior.

"Brooke…" Lucas laughed, kissing her. "Only you…your mommy is crazy, Lena!" Lucas said, bending down to tickle his little girl.

"She's so cute" Brooke said. "Look, she looks like you and me…blonde hair and hazel eyes…boys are gonna go crazy over her"

"Uh…not boys already! She's 5 months old!" Lucas laughed.

"She's my hazel eyed beautiful baby" Brooke said, picking the little girl up and cradling her.

"She's so sweet" Lucas said. "I haven't met a sweeter baby. Even Madison and Hayden love her a lot…I thought for sure they'd be resentful when we told them you were pregnant. I think Hayden wanted a brother though…" Lucas said.

"Remember when I told you I was pregnant with Lena?" Brooke asked, recalling the memory and laughing.

"Yah…our 'accident'" Lucas laughed.

"I always planned on an accident that would turn out to be a girl" Brooke said.

"You and your plans Brooke…" Lucas laughed.

"But it was time for another baby anyway…Hayden had been the baby for too long" Brooke giggled. "Hey Lenny did you know you were an accident?"

Lena giggled and stretched her hands out to Lucas. He played with them. "She was a good accident though, huh?" Brooke laughed, kissing Lucas.

"Yes, but no more babies after this" Lucas laughed. "We've got our hands full with Madison and Hayden"

"I love babies though" Brooke said sadly.

"You wanna get fat again and then try to shed that weight?" Lucas asked.

"No…ok no more babies…but I love my Lenny" Brooke giggled, bouncing the baby girl.

"I love my Lenny too" Lucas laughed, kissing Brooke.

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"Anthony, my dearest older cousin, we need to talk" Madison said, jumping on his bed and bouncing up and down. Haley and Nathan's house was like her second home, and she treated it just that way.

"Maddie…I have homework"

"So do I, genius, but its called doing it FAST…we need to have a one on one talk"

"Look if this is about Catherine…" Anthony sighed.

"Catherine? What about her?" Madison said, looking at him innocently with her baby blue eyes.

"Not the eyes, Madison…" Anthony said, throwing a sock at her.

"Ew! Dirty sock...you have 30 minutes and then we're having- wait, its Friday, no homework on Fridays, that's Mrs. Green's rule" Madison said suspiciously. "You don't have homework, you're reading Sports Illustrated! Jerk! We have to talk" Madison said, bouncing up and down again.

"What…?" Anthony whined.

"No whining zone, Anthony. Ok…do you like Catherine?" she said.

"I thought this wasn't about her!"

"It is, do you seriously think I have anything else to do? Do you like her?"

"Madison…"

"Anthony, I am your best friend! You HAVE to tell me!"

"Yah, but see, problem is, you're also Catherine's best friend" Anthony pointed out, flipping through the Sport's Illustrated. "And our conversation will be repeated in 30 minutes on your cell phone to her, so I refuse to speak" he laughed.

"Anthony! You have to tell me…like, hmm, or love?" Madison giggled. "I have to know!"

"You are so nosy, you know that?" Anthony laughed; throwing his Sport's Illustrated in the magazine bin.

"Yes, but quit changing the subject…you, Catherine, what's up?" Madison asked.

Anthony sighed, knowing Madison was never gonna give up. "Ok, so I like her…a lot…and we're 12, I know…but still" Anthony said. "She's pretty" he laughed. "And nice"

"Ooh…Catherine's 1 on my speed dial" Madison giggled.

"Madison!"

"Sorry…I'm calling my mother, I promise!" Madison said, showing him the 'calling Mom' flashing on her screen. He sighed and waved her out. Madison giggled when her mother picked up the phone.

"Madison!" Brooke said.

"Mom! Juicy gossip" Madison giggled.

"What?" Brooke shrieked, as excited as a Jr. High student.

"Anthony likes Catherine…and she likes him- its official!" Madison exclaimed.

"Yes! I knew it! You're almost Catherine's sister in law!"

"I know!" Madison shrieked.

"Alright so you work on getting your cousin to ask Catherine out, ok?"

"Ok! Bye mom!"

"Bye diva"

Madison shut off her phone and smiled to herself. She was going to get Catherine and Anthony together…what else did she have to do?

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"Hayden! Don't do that" Angelina said, laughing and snatching the book out of his hand. "Its Friday…no work on Fridays! Let's go out and swim"

"In January?"

"Have you heard of an indoor heated pool?"

"Oh that's right! We don't ever use ours…Mom and Madison say its useless cause they can't tan"

"I don't care we don't have to tan…come on!" Angelina said, running to get her bathing suit. "Mom, me and Hayden are going swimming!" she yelled.

"Absolutely not! In January?"

"No! Inside!"

"Oh…don't drown!"

"We won't mom…" Angelina laughed.

"Angelina…" Hayden sighed.

"Let's go!" she shrieked, jumping in the pool. Hayden sighed and followed her in.

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"My dear, dear baby sister, we need to chat" Jenny said.

"About?" Catherine asked suspiciously.

"Anthony"

"Oh no…Madison already called and gave me a talk"

"Are you two getting together?" Jenny asked, getting excited.

"Well he likes me…"

"He does? That's a start! But has he asked you out yet?"

"No…" Catherine laughed. "Aren't we a little young to be dating?"

"At 12? That's late…I had a boyfriend at 9"

"That's because you have boobs, a butt, and long swingy hair" Catherine pointed out.

"You'll get there" Jenny laughed. "Don't worry, I was body conscious when I was 12…I was skinny, flat, and didn't have perfect hair" Jenny winked.

"I doubt" Catherine sighed, falling back on her pillow. "I can't wait to be 13…12 sucks"

"Its ok Kitty…I felt that way too…but 13 is when the real problems start, you know? Self image issues, teenage angst"

"Hey! You're 21…don't complain"

"Yah, yah…it's not all its cracked up to be" Jenny laughed. "Plus I don't drink, so…"

"Yah"

"It'll get better once Mr. Hiding From Love asks you out" Jenny assured.

"If he ever asks me out" Catherine sighed.

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"Brooke…where are you?" Lucas called.

"Gotcha!" she screamed, spraying silly string all over Lucas. He counter attacked with two cans of silly string.

"LUCAS" Brooke gasped. "You can't double can me…that's a foul"

"A foul? In our silly string fight?" Lucas asked, grabbing her around the waist and kissing her.

"Yes, Lucas Eugene Scott"

"Middle name…" he groaned.

"You use mine freely" Brooke whined, spraying him with silly string.

"But yours is normal"

"Penelope is hardly a normal name" Brooke whined. "It's ugly"

"It's not ugly! You have a beautiful name…a beautiful name for a beautiful girl" Lucas said, kissing her. Brooke giggled and sprayed him some more.

"You think we're disturbing Lena?" Brooke asked.

"Probably" Lucas laughed. "But she's a deep sleeper"

"Like me" Brooke giggled, spraying silly string on him and running down the hallway.

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"The pool deck needs to be like warm" Haley said.

"What, so you can tan?" Nathan teased.

"No! I mean warm COLOR, smart one" Haley said, smacking him.

"Well…how about beige?"

"Ew!"

"Maroon?"

"Double ew! I like this warm mahogany color"

"Hales…that looks like…no"

"Nathan!"

"Haley" Nathan laughed, kissing her. "How about we go to bed?"

"Are the kids asleep?"

"Yah…and Maddie and Hayden are on the third floor…" Nathan winked. Haley giggled and kissed Nathan.

"See you in a little bit husband" Haley winked.

**A/N: Ok…hopefully the lack of updates aren't too bad and I apologize that the chapters suck right now…but I've got to familiarize myself with characters. I'm SO used to Madison being 3 and Jenny being 12 that I'll often type in Jenny in place of Madison or Catherine. And I know Madison's 12, but I'm 15 and I still call my mother mommy lol…but yah I'll work on that. Like the last story, I knew the characters inside an out, you know? Like even though I made them up, like I got to know them...its weird I sound stupid ok review!**


	3. Life As We Know It

Alarms ringing, lunches being packed, and kisses being blown were all in a Monday morning in January for Brooke. She had stopped working again because of Lena and because she really didn't want to work. Brooke sighed with relief when she saw the limo pull out of their driveway and Madison and Hayden sitting in there happily enough for a Monday morning.

"Lenny…is mommy a prudish mommy now?" Brooke groaned to her little daughter, who sat up and looked around, confused, but then decided that she was going to ignore her mother and just babbled to herself contentedly.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes" Brooke sighed, kissing her daughter and spooning some yogurt into her mouth. "Eat, Lena, eat" Brooke sighed. "Don't be Madison…eat" she laughed. Lena opened her mouth and Brooke fed her the yogurt.

Lucas came over from behind and kissed Brooke on the cheek. "Hey gorgeous" he whispered.

"Hey" she smiled, kissing him. "Where were you this morning?" she asked.

"Shower" Lucas laughed.

"At 7 in the morning?" she asked, confused.

"Uh huh…practice starts in 15 minutes" Lucas informed her.

"Lucas…no…you have to go?" Brooke pouted.

"Yah…hey baby doll" he said, picking up Lena and kissing her. She giggled and leaned her head on Lucas's chest.

"I don't want you to go though…" Brooke said, coming up and kissing Lucas.

"I'm sorry" he laughed, kissing Brooke and rubbing Lena's back. "When I get back we'll do something fun, ok?"

"With or without the kids?" Brooke asked, a smile dancing on her lips.

"Without…" Lucas winked, kissing Brooke one more time, and handing Lena to her. "Don't be too naughty…bye Lena, I love you, keep your mommy in line…bye Brooke" he laughed. "I love you"

"Love you too" Brooke pouted, finally giggling and blowing him a kiss. Lucas smiled, walking out the door, casting a loving glance at Brooke and Lena before shutting the door behind him.

"Hey Lena…you know, one time, when your mommy and daddy were silly teenagers, daddy was on the basketball team and mommy had the flu…" Brooke said suddenly, recalling one of her favorite memories.

"_Brooke…how are you feeling?" Lucas asked, walking into her bedroom where she was lying on her bed._

"_Not good…Lucas do you have to go?" Brooke whined._

"_Yes baby…I'm sorry, I love you, ok?" Lucas said. "I wanted to come and say bye before we left for the game"_

"_I can't believe I can't come"_

"_I'm sorry…you got sick at the wrong time, its ok" Lucas whispered, stroking her damp hair._

"_Don't go Lucas" she said, a tear slipping down her cheek._

"_Brooke?" Another tear slipped down her cheek. "Are you ok baby?"_

"_No" Brooke sobbed. "I don't feel good"_

"_I know sweetheart you have the flu…what's the matter?" Lucas asked, harboring a seriously concerned look on his face._

"_Don't go Lucas" she said, grabbing his hand. Lucas couldn't bear seeing Brooke like that. On top of that her forehead was really hot and her cheeks were red._

"_Did your mom give you your medicine?"_

"_She's in Florida"_

"_Who's here?"_

"_A bitchy old maid who can't understand me" Brooke said. "She never brought me my medicine"_

"_Oh…Brooke" Lucas said, wiping a tear from her face and kissing her forehead. "I won't go" he said. "I won't leave; I promise…I'm gonna go get you your medicine from the medicine cabinet, ok? I'm not leaving" he said, returning 10 minutes later with juice, pain killers, water, and yogurt._

"_Thanks for staying Lucas" Brooke said, half delirious._

"_I'll never leave you, ok?" he said, kissing her forehead and taking her hand._

"So Lenny, he stayed there all night, missed his basketball game, and made sure I took the medicine" Brooke said, smiling and tearing up a little at the memory. "So try to find a guy like that, ok?" she laughed, kissing Lena and sitting her down on the couch.

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"Brooke…" Haley whined on the phone. "My husband is missing"

"Mine too" Peyton said, enjoying being able to three way call her best friends. "The coach has stolen our husbands" she sighed.

"Don't complain, I have a baby I have to watch…all your children are at school" Brooke laughed.

"Mason comes in like an hour…why do they dismiss kindergarteners at 1? And not 3?"

"Madison used to get off at 12" Brooke laughed. "I think 15 whiny 5 year olds for more than three hours would kill the poor teachers"

"Oh I know…when I was teaching, I had 17 first graders and I wanted to kill myself by the end of 2 hours" Haley laughed.

"You taught?" Brooke asked, confused.

"I was a substitute teacher for a really long time when one of the teachers came down with something"

"Oh"

"Should we go shopping?" Peyton asked. "I'm bored"

"I can't take Lenny out, she's a little sick" Brooke said. "And it's kinda cold"

"Yah Mason's gonna be here in like 40 minutes…I should go"

"Ok bye!" they all hung up.

"Lena…I'm bored" Brooke said. "You had to get a cough when mommy wanted to go out, didn't you baby?" Brooke laughed. Lena ignored Brooke pleasantly and closed her eyes and yawned. "Ooh someone's sleepy" Brooke said, sitting down and curling up on the couch. She threw a light blanket over her and Lena and rubbed Lena's back. The soft rhythm of Lena's breathing and her exhaustion proved to be too much for Brooke and in a short few minutes, she was asleep.

"Br-" Lucas was about to yell her name when he saw her and Lena asleep on the couch. He smiled when he saw his girls and kissed each one on the forehead. He would let Brooke sleep, she looked exhausted.

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"LUCAS SCOTT!" Brooke yelled at the top of her lungs.

"What Brooke?" Lucas grumbled.

"Did you eat the last brownie!" she yelled again.

"Yes…" Lucas said sheepishly. "What's so bad about that?"

"I wanted a brownie" Brooke whined, coming over and sitting down in Lucas's lap.

"You could make some more"

"What, so you and Hayden could devour them before me and Madison can even get to them?"

"Maybe" Lucas said, kissing her.

"Lucas…" Brooke whined, kissing him back. "I'm being serious"

"About the brownie?"

"No, about…I don't know, I'm BORED" Brooke whined again. "Where are our children?"

"Doing their homework"

"What? Did they not listen to everything I taught them?"

"What did you teach them?" Lucas asked suspiciously.

"Nothing…"

"They have to do their homework, Brooke" Lucas laughed.

"I know…what's taking so long? Madison's only a 6th grader; _I _never had that much homework in 6th grade"

"That's cause she's in the honors program and a year ahead" Lucas laughed, kissing her. "She has to do her work and do it well"

"How annoying…Hayden!" Brooke called her son.

"Brooke!" Lucas reprimanded.

"I don't care, Lucas, I'm bored…Haydie, your homework done?" Brooke asked, hugging her son.

"Almost mom" Hayden said. "Just some grammar left"

"Ew…grammar…I hate Mondays" Brooke sighed.

"Me too" Madison said, walking in with her sketches tucked under her arm. "I'm almost done mom...where's Lenny?" she asked.

"In her bedroom…sleeping" Brooke giggled. "All that girl does is sleep"

Madison laughed and went into Lena's room. "Hey baby" she said, picking her up. "How are you, I haven't seen you all day!" she laughed, kissing her little sister. "Come on; let's go see mommy and daddy"

"Lena!" Brooke said, seeing her daughter. Lucas held out his arms and Madison handed Lena to Lucas.

"Here, daddy wants you" Madison laughed, handing her baby sister to Lucas and plopping down on the couch. "I'm bored"

"Let's shop Madison"

"Ok…but isn't Lenny sick?"

"Yes, but Lenny also has a super sweet ultra loving daddy, right?" Brooke said, kissing Lucas softly on his right cheek. Lucas closed his eyes for a second and then nodded.

"I'll watch her, you girls have your fun" Lucas said. "Don't spend too much money" he laughed.

"Bring me back a cookie!" Hayden called after them. Madison flashed him a look and rolled her eyes before grabbing her Gucci purse and walking out the door.

"So where we going Mom?" Madison asked.

"Well Abercrombie for you and then we can go to some other places for me" Brooke said, sighing and leaning back against the plush leather seats. "So what's up with Anthony and Catherine?"

"I don't know…they're being so like…secretive about it, you know? Like they won't do anything every time they see each other…its frustrating" Madison sighed. "And this whole situation appeals to my matchmaker side, so I'm mad they won't match!"

"You're my child through and through…I got Hales and Nate together" Brooke grinned.

"The famous Aunt Haley Uncle Nate pair was you?" Madison asked, a look of admiration spreading across her face.

"Oh yes…and I was also responsible for your father and me"

"Oh come on mom" Madison laughed.

"I was! I wanted him, so I undressed in his car after the basketball game…"

"I've heard…" Madison laughed.

"But your dad is awesome"

"I know…I love daddy" Madison laughed.

"So are we gonna get Catherine and Anthony together or what?" Brooke asked Madison.

"Oh yah"

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"So dad what exactly are we watching?" Hayden asked with his nose scrunched up.

"The Wiggles" Lucas answered. "Lena loves the Wiggles" he laughed.

"Didn't Madison and I hate the Wiggles?" Hayden asked.

"Oh yah…Maddie would scream whenever she saw it and you would throw a temper tantrum if anything but basketball or Sesame Street was on" Lucas laughed, recalling the memory.

"Lena…you're interesting kiddo" Hayden laughed, watching his little sister sitting up on the couch intently watching the Wiggles.

Lucas had an arm around Lena to stop her from falling off the couch since she was bouncing up and down enthusiastically. "Lenny…baby…don't bounce" Lucas sighed, lifting the little girl and shifting her to his lap. "She bounces more than Madison used to and that girl was like queen of kingdom bouncy"

"I bet she gets it from Maddie"

"You know funny thing is, she looks exactly like Madison regarding facial features and she acts exactly like Madison too, but she has blonde hair and hazel eyes" Lucas said, studying his daughter.

"So how's the jump shot?" he asked.

"I still suck" Hayden sighed.

"I'm sure it'll get better" Lucas said. "You have to work on it…you have a strong jump shot though"

"Yah Anthony sucks at that…and can throw a free throw from the other end of the world"

"Yah…he's good" Lucas admitted.

"We're gonna go pro"

"You better" Lucas laughed.

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"Mom! Look at this skirt!"

"I dunno Maddie…its past knee length…way past"

"But its cute mom…are you still trying to instill bad behaviors in me?"

"Don't use big words like instill, Maddie…I'm big word illiterate"

"You just used illiterate"

"Good point"

"Anyway, I like this skirt" Madison tried it on and it fit perfectly on her figure.

"It looks cute"

"Those shoes mom…they're awesome" Madison laughed, pointing to Brooke's metallic sparkling gold shoes"

"I figured I'd wear them to your PTA meeting and piss all the soccer moms off"

"Mom…" Madison laughed.

"No I'm not going to be a cookie baker mother" Brooke said stubbornly. "My children know I love them more than life itself, I don't need to attend PTA meetings to prove it"

"I agree" Madison laughed digging through Brooke's purse for her credit card. "Hey mom, we're at the checkout and my name isn't Brooke Scott" Madison said, pointing to the receipt.

"Oh right" Brooke signed for the purchases and then they left the store.

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"Good night Madison, Hayden…Lenny" Brooke laughed when she saw her daughter sitting up wide awake in her crib.

"Lena…sleep sweetie" Lucas said, picking her up and sitting down on the rocking chair and rubbing her back.

"How do you do that?" Brooke asked 10 minutes later when Lena was fast asleep.

"I'm good like that…now for the Jacuzzi, Brooke…" Lucas said, kissing her and pulling her to their bathroom.

**A/N: Ok so the chapter was kind of pointless, but like I said, I'm trying to establish characters and storylines and I promise drama will come…I just don't know when lol…and for the basketball terms like free throw and jump shot and stuff…I'm the least athletic person you'll ever find, so I'm kind of improvising from what I heard from my dad and brother…lol anyway review! Thanks to the reviews so far…they're very motivating! **


	4. California, Drama, and some school

"Madison…wake up…Hayden…wake up…time for school" Brooke chirped, going from room to room and opening their blinds, letting in an array of blinding early morning sunlight.

"Ten more minutes?" Madison groaned, rolling over in her bed. Brooke pulled the canopy aside and threw off Madison's sheets.

"Maddie, I did the exact same thing when I was your age, thus, I was late every other day…UP!" Brooke laughed.

"Mom…" Brooke hit play on Madison's stereo and Hit Me Baby One More Time blasted through the house.

"I'm up" Madison whined, and Brooke heard Hayden groan something from the other room about Madison's "gay" music.

"Hayden don't use the word gay you're too young and good morning" Brooke said, coming in and laughing at Hayden's tousled blonde hair and tired eyes.

"Good morning mom…" he yawned, getting out of bed and padding to his bathroom. Brooke laughed and left the room, feeling like a typical mother. She groaned to herself and walked into her bedroom.

"Lucas Scott, if I have to be up at 7:20, then so do you" she said, throwing off his covers.

"Brooke" he said, pulling her into bed with him. She giggled and snuggled up to Lucas. "I love you" he whispered, encircling his arms around her and kissing her hair. Brooke closed her eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying the feeling of being held. They hadn't been able to do many romantic things since Lena was born and badly needed to do something together before they went crazy.

"Mom!" Brooke was snapped back into reality.

"What, Hayden?"

"We're leaving…bye!"

"Bye Haydie, bye Madison…love you!"

"Love you too!" they chorused back, and Brooke heard the door shut behind them.

"Brooke…we're gonna go crazy if we don't have any alone time" Lucas mumbled into her hair. She nodded and rolled over to kiss him. "I love you" he said, closing his eyes again.

"Still sleepy?" Brooke laughed.

"Oh yah…Lena kept us both up all night" he sighed. "Is she still asleep?"

"Yah" Brooke sighed. "She's so cranky when she's sick"

"Just like you" Lucas teased, kissing her nose. Brooke giggled and snuggled deeper into his arms.

"Let's just sleep, Lucas" she whispered.

"Ok"

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Alexis rolled over in her bed, tears escaping her grey eyes. She missed Tree Hill. She hadn't been in a year because Matthew was so busy. She missed her mother and father and her brothers and Brooke and Madison. She hadn't even SEEN Lena and she was just so sick of California.

"Alexis?" Matthew said, feeling the wetness of her cheek. "You ok?"

"Yah, why?" Alexis asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"You're crying…come here baby" Matthew said, pulling her into his arms. "What's the matter?"

"I miss home…I don't know if that makes me a baby or what, but I miss my family, Matthew…I cant stand being so far away from them, I'm a very family oriented person" Alexis sighed.

"Alexis…" Matthew sighed, caressing her hair. He know being so far away from Tree Hill killed her, and he knew no amount of phone calls could make up for being so far away.

"I need to sleep" Alexis said, freeing herself from his grasp and pulling the covers over her head.

"Ok" he said worriedly, kissing her cheek and rolling over to his side.

Alexis lay their quietly, trying her best to make her breathing even, but the tears just wouldn't stop coming. Soon, they turned into full fledged sobs that no one could ignore. Matthew didn't know what to do, whether to leave her alone or hold her. He went with his gut instinct and pulled her into his arms. To his relief, she didn't resist, and her body relaxed against his. She finally cried herself to sleep. Matthew sighed and closed his eyes. He had some serious thinking to do.

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"Hey Madison" Conrad said, coming up from behind and hugging her while she was standing at her locker.

"Hey Conrad!" Madison said, turning around and smiling. "You look tired"

"Yah…I went to sleep kind of late last night"

"Why?"

"I was on the phone"

"With?" Madison asked, laughing and examining her appearance in her locker mirror.

"My grandmother…she talked my ear off" Conrad whined.

"Grandma Josephine?"

"YES! The chatterbox"

"She's so funny" Madison laughed.

"No she's not, she's annoying"

"I like my grandparents…well most of them anyway" Madison laughed.

"She sends me a lot of money" Conrad shrugged, a smile playing on his lips.

"Conrad!"

"Kidding, Maddie" he laughed.

"Alright boyfriend lets move it or we're gonna be late to Simpson's class" Madison said, tugging on Conrad's backpack.

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Catherine and Anthony sat in English class, trying to tune out their unnervingly boring professor.

"So children…a transitive verb is…" the Professor drawled.

"Hey Catherine" Anthony whispered. Catherine turned around, her hazel eyes sparkling at Anthony.

"Yah?"

"I'm gonna fall asleep soon"

"With Professor Boring as a teacher? I'm already asleep" she giggled. She turned back around and Anthony watched her flip her curly mass of blonde hair over her shoulder and sigh.

_He's so cute…and sweet…and funny…_

_She's so pretty…and sweet…and pretty…_

"Miss Jageilski?"

"Yah?" Catherine snapped out of dreamland.

"What's the answer?"

"Direct object?" Catherine took a shot in the dark.

"EXCELLENT! How did you know that?" the professor asked, elated.

"It's obvious" Catherine shrugged, silently thanking her lucky stars.

"What's obvious is that you've been paying attention" the Professor said, looking positively thrilled. Catherine smiled and Anthony shot her a shocked look. She smiled and winked and turned around to face the board, determined to pay attention so she wouldn't be called on like that again.

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"Oh my god" Alexis whispered to herself, staring down at the home pregnancy test. "I'm pregnant" she said, sitting down on the side of the Jacuzzi.

"Hey Alexis, I'm gonna run off to work, ok?" Matthew called, tightening his tie.

"Matthew?" Alexis whispered.

"Yah?" he asked, smiling and turning around.

"I'm pregnant" she said, holding up the pregnancy test.

"Wow…" Matthew said. "Alexis, that's great!"

"I know" Alexis said, an extremely excited feeling rising up in her stomach. Matthew pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

"I'm so happy Alexis…we'll celebrate tonight, ok?" he smiled.

"Ok" She smiled and kissed him back.

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"Hello?"

"Bumblebee?"

"Alexis!" Madison shrieked. Hayden and Lucas covered their ears and rolled their eyes at the enthusiastic greeting.

"HI! Omg I haven't talked to you in SO long" Alexis sighed.

"I know…what's up?" Madison asked, examining her French manicure in the toaster reflection.

"I'm pregnant" Alexis said simply.

"WHAT! Omg that's great!" Madison yelled, jumping three feet in the air. "Does this mean you're moving back?" she inquired excitedly.

'Moving back' caught Lucas's ear and he turned around and shot Madison a questioning look.

"Daddy, Alexis is pregnant!" Madison screeched. Lucas smiled and motioned for her to give him the phone when she was done. She nodded and continued her conversation. "So is it a boy or a girl?"

"WAY too early to tell, but we're excited"

"Me too! I'm even more excited" Madison giggled, tossing the cordless phone to Lucas.

"Hey little sister…mommy to be" Lucas smiled when he heard his little sister's voice.

"Who's mommy to be?" Brooke asked, towel drying her hair and walking into the room.

"Alexis! She's pregnant!" Madison and Brooke simultaneously shrieked and jumped up and down. Hayden rolled his eyes but a smile played on his lips. Lena looked temporarily scared by all the noise and scrunched up her face to wail but Madison quickly picked her up and bounced her gently.

"Nice save, Maddie, or she would have wailed for hours" Brooke giggled.

"I know…as much as I love you Lenny…you're so whiny" Madison giggled, kissing Lena's nose and making her giggle. After Brooke and Alexis had a long conversation, they all gathered at the family table to talk about their day and eat dinner.

"I met a new friend today" Hayden said, slurping his spaghetti.

"Hayden…don't slurp" Brooke giggled. "And a girl friend…or a boy friend?"

"Mom…girls…ew…his name's Jack, and he's new" Hayden informed them importantly. "He sucks at basketball though"

"He does?" Lucas asked interestedly.

"Yah he's a soccer guy"

"So who're you gonna play basketball with?"

"You dad…and kick your butt"

"In your dreams"

"SO Madison did you read Teen Vogue?" Brooke said loudly.

"Yes I want that new lip gloss" Madison said.

"The Revlon one?"

"Yes! It's so pretty" Madison said, popping a meatball in her mouth. "It'd look good with our complexions"

"Ok why is my 11 year old talking about complexions?" Lucas asked, tearing himself away from an obviously entertaining basketball related conversation with Hayden.

"Cause…complexion's are awesome?" Brooke said.

"She can't wear makeup!"

"Yes she can…I did"

"Well…" Lucas grumbled.

"It's ok" Brooke winked. He laughed and threw a napkin at her.

"Lucas!" Brooke shrieked. "No throwing things at the dinner table, look what kind of example you're setting for our children!" she giggled.

_Over at the Jageilski residence…_

"Peyton, someone's at the door!" Jake called, hearing the bell ring.

"Alright! I'll get it babe" she called back, opening the door.

"Peyton?"

"Ellie? What are you doing here?"

**A/N: Dun! CLIFFHANGER! Not really but short chapter, Alexis is pregnant! Yay! Drama is building, as you can tell! Yay…review! **


	5. What A Tangled Web We Weave

"Hey Whitney" Anthony smiled, catching the eye of one of the most attractive girls in the 7th grade. The hallway was crowded, and Madison and Catherine were chattering right behind Anthony.

"Anthony" she cooed. "How are you?"

"Good…tired" he winked. "Basketball's milking me" he laughed.

"I love watching basketball! When's your practice?" Whitney asked.

"Today at 4"

"I'll be there to watch you…I bet you have your dad's skills"

"Well you'll just have to come see then" Anthony said. "I'll be looking for you" Whitney giggled and tossed her cascading strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder.

Hot tears filled Catherine's eyes as she listened to Anthony flirt with Whitney, and he was making it more obvious than anything else. Madison's mouth fell wide open and her eyes got big as she shot a death glare at Anthony and hugged Catherine.

"Come on kitty" she said, using Catherine's old nickname. "He's an asshat" she snapped. Catherine nodded and Madison hugged her before seeing her off to her English class.

"Anthony Paul Scott!" she yelled across the hallway.

"Ooh that didn't sound good" Anthony grimaced to his best friend AJ.

"Why are you an utter and complete jackass?"

"That's kind of harsh, Madison" Anthony said. "What did I do?"

"You flirted with a skinny whore when Catherine was standing right behind you!" Madison said, smacking him.

"Madison!"

"No, Anthony, could you be more oblivious to other people's feelings? I can't believe you did that- you are in BIG trouble when we talk this afternoon" she said, giving him a disgusted look and walking into her classroom.

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"Wait, Ellie…I thought the conversation was over?" Peyton said the next day when Ellie showed up at her door again.

"Peyton….I'm your mother"

"You are not my mother, Ellie! Go away!" Peyton yelled, shutting the door.

"Peyton…"

"Ellie, before I call the cops on you" Peyton breathed. She saw Ellie turn away dejectedly, returning to her car.

"Babe, you ok?"

"Ellie keeps showing up!"

"Peyton…I don't know what to say" Jake said, enveloping his wife in a hug. "You wanna go somewhere? Jenny's here with the kids" he said, stroking her hair gently and kissing her.

"Ok" Peyton said, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Hey baby, don't cry…" Jake said, pulling her closer to him and tightening his grip around Peyton.

"What happened to my mother, Jake?" Peyton sobbed into his shoulder. "Where is she?"

_Over at the Scott senior residence…_

"Hey baby" Lucas said, picking Lena up and patting her back gently. It was pretty early in the morning after the kids had left for school and Brooke had fallen asleep again. Lena cooed and shifted but basically was still as Lucas carried her to his and Brooke's bedroom.

"Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Hi"

"Hi" Lucas laughed, kissing Brooke and setting Lena down in her spare crib.

"Kids home yet?" Brooke murmured sleepily.

"Baby, they just left" Lucas laughed, climbing back into bed. She sat up and he wrapped his arms around her tightly as she sighed.

"I'm worried about Peyton" Brooke sighed. "She's in a really bad situation right now"

"With the Ellie woman?"

"Yah" Brooke said. "She keeps showing up at her door and it's really bad. The loss of her actual mother was hard enough on her as it was, now there's Ellie in the picture with baby photos and teething rings and ugh…when did life get so complicated, Lucas?"

"When we decided to fall in love and get married and have children" Lucas laughed. "Remember when we were four, Brooke, and you and I had just met in the park?"

"Yah…"

_At Tree Hill High…_

"I can't believe you would do something like that Anthony" Madison said, when they were sitting at lunch.

"Something like WHAT, Madison? I'm not in a relationship with anyone! And I'm not a priest either, I can flirt with people" Anthony defended.

"But you're leading Catherine on! You act like you like her a lot, which you DO, and you know she likes you too, but then you turn around and flirt with Whitney- Whitney of all people! And you know Whitney and Catherine hate each other" Madison said. "You're being so insensitive!"

"_You're_ not the one getting hurt here, Madison" Anthony pointed out.

"That's beside the point Anthony! You're being insensitive to her feelings! She likes you, and you KNOW that- how would you feel if she started flirting with Michael? She knows you hate him; you know he likes her- why are you being so stupid? You're acting like her feelings don't exist!" Madison exclaimed.

"She's not willing to act like she likes me, whenever I try to hint at it, she totally blows it off!" Anthony yelled. "She doesn't like me Madison!"

"Yes, she does! A lot! Ever heard of being scared, Anthony? She doesn't wanna damage your friendship- you guys have been friends literally since birth…I wouldn't wanna damage a friendship that sacred!"

"Ok…seriously, Maddie…I'm sorry I flirted with Whitney. I am- but she wont understand that" Anthony sighed.

"Don't apologize to me- apologize to her" Madison snapped. "And it's your fault in the first place that she's a complete mess today" Madison said, before stalking off to find Conrad.

_At the Scott junior residence…_

"So what's going on with Anthony and Catherine?" Nathan asked Haley. "Is he being a player?"

"Yah, Madison called me yesterday…I swear that girl is a force of nature…anyway, so there's this girl named Whitney that Anthony apparently openly flirted with and Catherine was really upset…Nathan, you need to talk to him- he may have inherited this from you and Lucas"

"Hey!"

"Its true…that was your trademark in high school" Haley pointed out, popping a grape in her mouth.

"Before I met you" Nathan smiled, kissing her.

"True…so what are we gonna do?"

"I'll talk to him"

"Good"

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Brooke sat on her bed, quickly testing the milk on her hand before giving Lena the bottle to hold. Where the hell was Lucas? Oh, he had practice. Brooke thought that their relationship had been slipping- they never had enough time for each other anymore. Nothing romantic had been done in months. She loved her children, more than life itself, but she also sort of missed their whirlwind romance of a life.

"Sleep tight Lenny" Brooke whispered, kissing her daughter on the forehead and putting her down in her crib. Brooke sat down, tears forming in her eyes. She didn't know why, but she felt like crying. All the Peyton mother stuff made her wonder what kind of childhood she would have had if her mother had loved her like that. What kind of childhood she would have had if her mother had rocked her to sleep like she had just rocked Lena to sleep.

"I love you Lena" Brooke whispered. She sighed and decided she was being too emotional…probably hormones, she concluded. She padded out to the kitchen, where what she saw made her breath catch in her throat and her eyes fill with tears again. There, on the table, was a vase of yellow and white roses, Brooke's favorite kind. A little Tiffany's box lay next to it. When Brooke opened it, a charm for her chain lay in the soft cotton of the box. A small diamond encrusted heart, with a little note stuck to the bottom of the tiny box.

_Brooke- I hope you get this when I planned for you to get this. I wanted to give you a little something because I know you've been stressed out and down lately with all the drama that's going on. I hope the diamonds do your beauty justice, but no amount of sparkling diamonds could measure up to the twinkle in your eyes when you're happy. I hope you like it, I spent a while picking it out. I love you- don't forget that, okay Cheery? See you when I get back from practice._

_-Lucas_

A new wave of tears rolled down Brooke's cheek as she read the note and ran her fingers across the diamond heart. Lucas had just made her day a whole lot brighter than she had expected it to be.

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"Hey Madison…how was your day?" Conrad asked, sitting down next to Madison on the bench in the nearly deserted courtyard.

"It sucked"

"I'm sorry…anything I can do to make it better?" he asked, laughing.

"No…thanks anyway though" Madison smiled, looking up at him, her eyes replicating Brooke's famous twinkle.

"Ok…I can't believe how much homework we have" he sighed. "I hate homework"

"Me too" Madison laughed, throwing her pencil at him. "But I actually DO mine"

"Hey, I do mine too!" Conrad laughed, throwing her pencil back at her.

"Only occasionally" Madison laughed.

"That's not true" Conrad defended leaning forward, close enough that Madison could see his eyes right in front of hers.

"Conrad…"

"Shh…" he said, leaning in to kiss her.

**A/N: Things are heating up! Will they kiss? Will they not? Hehehe review! I heart them and you know it ;-) **


	6. Losing Sight of What's Right

Madison and Conrad broke apart, and Madison stared into his eyes before shaking her head.

"Well" she said. "That was interesting"

"Madison…"

"No, it was nice, Conrad…it was sweet- now we sealed the deal" she said, kissing him on the cheek one more time before getting up. "Looks like my dad's here" she said, pointing at the silver corvette Lucas was sporting. "But I will talk to you online tonight or call, ok?" she said, hugging him because she knew Lucas was watching, and then she turned to leave.

"Hey teddy bear…how was your day?" Lucas asked, smiling at his oldest daughter when she climbed into the car.

"Good" Madison said, feeling her heart speed up. If having a fight with your cousin and then having your boyfriend kiss you unexpectedly was all in a good day, then a good day it was.

"Good? Just good?"

"It was spectacular" Madison said sarcastically.

"You ok Madison? You're usually never sarcastic" he asked

"You know me too well"

"Well I'm your father, I would expect that" Lucas laughed. "Now tell me, what's on your mind?"

"I had a fight with Anthony"

"Let me guess…over Catherine" Lucas said.

"How'd you know?"

"Your mother is a very big gossip" Lucas laughed.

"Well yah…and I swear to God, they are supposed to be together, why can't they just get over themselves?" Madison asked, frustrated.

"Well it took your mother and me 20 plus years before we realized we were madly in love with each other"

"20 plus years? That's so long"

"Well we ended up together, didn't we?" he asked, laughing.

"You did…hey daddy?"

"Yah?"

"I love you"

"I love you too Madison"

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"Mom!" Madison yelled loudly.

"What Madison?" Brooke called from her room.

"I need to talk to you!" Madison called.

"I'll be right there" Brooke exchanged a look with Lucas and handed Lena to him. "What's up babe?" Brooke asked, plopping down on Madison's bed.

"So something happened with Conrad today" Madison said.

"What?" Brooke asked excited.

"He kissed me…"

"Madison! That's so exciting!" Brooke said, hugging her daughter.

"I wasn't that excited though…" Madison said, sighing.

"What, why?"

"I dunno…it was totally random and it was awkward"

"All first kisses are awkward Maddie, that's expected" Brooke said soothingly.

"I know…don't you think I'm too young?"

"No…you're almost 12 anyway"

"Mom…I just turned 11" Madison laughed.

"Still! Its ok…its gonna be weird the first few times…just remember what your dad and I told you"

"No sex till I'm 30?"

"Exactly" Brooke laughed, hugging Madison. "That way you won't end up pregnant at 16"

"You almost were" Madison pointed out.

"Right…and that was bad, Maddie, bad" Brooke laughed.

"Right mom" Madison laughed.

"Mall?" Brooke asked.

"Of course" Madison said, grabbing her purse and following Brooke out of the room.

"We're going to the mall Broody! Bye Hayden! Bye Lenny!"

"Bye Brooke!" Lucas yelled. "Love you!"

"Love you too!" she yelled back.

"Anthony, can we talk?" Nathan asked his son, walking into the room and sitting down on Anthony's bed.

"Yah dad…what's up?" Anthony asked, tearing his eyes away from the Sports Illustrated he was reading.

"Ok…a little bird told me what happened with you and Catherine"

"Would that little bird's name be Madison?" Anthony sighed.

"Uh…maybe. Point is…what happened, Anthony? Why did you act like that?" Nathan asked.

"Act like what, dad?"

"With that Whitney girl"

"You know I don't get what the big deal is"

"The big deal is Anthony; I learned too late that girls have really deep sensitive feelings and it sucks when you're the one to hurt them. Like with your mother- I did so many things that hurt her, I'm frankly astonished that we're married. You have to act like you care- scratch that- you have to care. If you don't care about her then don't waste your time…or hers" Nathan sighed.

"But I _do_ care about her, Dad" Anthony said. "A lot, as cheesy and unbelievable as that sounds"

"It's never too early to care, Anthony" Nathan laughed. "But just be more considerate, ok? Imagine what kind of state she's in right now if she actually likes you" Nathan said, clapping Anthony on the back and bumping fists with him.

Anthony thought carefully about what his father had said. It was true. He had been a major jerk, and not to the girl he liked- to his best friend of 12 years.

"Ok Madison, Hayden, Lena…behave, ok? Hayden- listen to Maddie, she's in charge, ok?" Brooke instructed. Her and Lucas were going out to a romantic dinner and just spending some time by themselves.

"Alright Mom...have fun…don't be naughty" Madison warned.

"Thanks for the advice" Lucas laughed. Brooke kissed all three of her children bye and they left.

"So Lenny…" Madison asked, rubbing the little girls back soothingly. "What do you wanna do?"

"I'm gonna go watch TV" Hayden said.

"Ok TV bum" Madison laughed.

"Hey! Fine I won't watch TV"

"Fine" Madison giggled. Lena gurgled and cooed and bounced enthusiastically, completely unaware of what was going on.

"So what's going on with Anthony and Catherine?" Hayden asked pryingly, popping a cheerio in his mouth.

"How do you know something's going on?" Madison asked, frowning.

"Mom"

"Ah…not surprised…you're too young"

"Come on Maddie!" Hayden whined.

"You're 8- I'm not telling you" Madison said, sitting down on the couch with Lena in her lap.

"Madison- I'm gonna tell dad you kissed Conrad" Hayden threatened.

"Doesn't matter- I already told mom- she definitely told dad about it" Madison said, even though her and Brooke had promised not to breathe a word about it to Lucas.

"Right" Hayden grumbled, turning on the TV.

"Put on The Wiggles" Madison said.

"But you hate The Wiggles"

"Lena likes it and she's the one I'm babysitting" Madison snapped, snatching the remote and putting the taped Wiggles on. Lena smiled with delight at the sight of her favorite show and Madison sighed, putting her sister next to her on the couch and leaning down to pick up her math book.

"So, Mrs. Scott, where would you like to go?" Lucas asked, kissing Brooke.

"I don't know" Brooke giggled.

"How about here?" Lucas asked, opening the door to Brooke's favorite restaurant.

"Aw Lucas I love this restaurant" Brooke said, hugging him. He smiled and pulled out the chair at the reserved table. She sat down and tossed her cascading brown hair over her shoulder, the soft waves rippling in the light. Lucas gazed at her for a few seconds before snapping back to attention.

"I can't believe we're almost 40" Brooke said.

"Hey! We've got 3 and a half more years" Lucas laughed, taking her hand and playing with her wedding ring. She shivered at his soft touch and placed her hand on top of his.

"True" she smiled, looking down at her plate and then back up through her eyelashes. Finally, they ordered and their food arrived.

"So do you like it?"

"I love it" Brooke smiled, blowing Lucas a kiss.

"That's good" Lucas laughed, taking a sip of his water. Brooke closed her eyes for a second as she felt Lucas play with her ring again.

"I love you Brooke" he said.

"I love you too, Lucas" she smiled, leaning over to kiss him.

"I'm going out with Mike, ok Hales?" Nathan said.

"Yah, sure! Have fun baby!" Haley said, kissing him before seeing him out the door.

Mike and Nathan walked into a sports bar- strictly there to watch sports and to try to ignore the half naked girls walking around flirting and trying to pick up guys.

"Hey there sexy" a girl said, coming up to Nathan. She had long, blonde shimmering hair and thick black eyeliner.

"Uh hi" Nathan said, sheepishly, taking another sip of his beer.

"How are you enjoying the services?" she asked in a seductive tone.

"The beer's good" Nathan joked. "And the team I like is winning…so it's good, I guess" he smiled warmly and returned to watching the football game, trying to ignore the heat of the girl's body as she pressed up on him.

"So what's your name?"

"Nathan…"

"Well that's a hot name"

"Thanks" Nathan said, turning back around and concentrating severely upon the game.

"My name's Melanie"

"Oh"

"Yah" she said, practically climbing on his lap. He pushed her off.

"Jesus, don't you get a hint? I'm ignoring you!" Nathan yelled drunkenly, pushing her off of him and turning around. "Don't bother me anymore" he snapped. Melanie looked thoroughly pissed off and stomped off, clearly mad that she failed in snagging by far the hottest guy sitting in the bar.

"So did you get him?" her friend asked.

"No…but I will" Melanie smirked, refreshing her lip gloss and tugging the neckline of her sweater lower.

"Catherine, will you just listen to me?" Anthony yelled.

"No! I won't! We BOTH know what you did- I saw it, you DID it- we're over and through, Anthony- you lost your chance!"

"Catherine…" he said.

"No! I don't care. Whitney has been my archenemy since God knows when. I'm not saying you can't flirt with other girls- we're not together, therefore, that makes you single and completely on the market. But I cannot believe you would flirt with WHITNEY SANCHEZ, the girl who made and makes my life a living horror daily! And on top of that- in front of ME!" she said, her voice breaking and tears forming in her eyes.

"Catherine, I'm sorry, ok? I'm so, so sorry about that- I didn't mean to hurt you" Anthony said. "I'm not trying to repair our relationship so we can date, you're my best friend, and you have been for the last 12 years- I need your friendship more than I need you to be my girlfriend, ok?"

"Oh, did you rehearse that line?" Catherine snapped, her hazel eyes brimming with tears. "Because it was good"

"No, I didn't- its true- you're my best friend. You always have been, you always will be"

"But yet you want more?"

"I do, but I wanna be friends above all- I wanna be able to talk to you like I was able to talk to you not too long ago. I value our friendship above everything else we have, ok?" Anthony said, his voice softening. "Come on, you have to believe me- we've been friends for 12 years now- you can trust me"

Catherine fake sneezed. "I'm sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit" she snapped, turning on her heel to walk away. On a sudden impulse, Anthony ran and pulled her into a hug. Surprisingly, she didn't resist, and her small frame sagged against his, her sobs echoing through the empty hallways. He hugged her like he had hugged her thousands of times before. But this time it was different. It was so much more intimate, so much more different- he was holding her now, holding on to their friendship for dear life, hoping that their puppy love feelings weren't going to destroy an ages old friendship.

"Nathan…dude, what are you doing?" Mike asked Nathan, who was chatting it up with Melanie.

"Mike, dude, get the hell out of here" Nathan said, swatting drunkenly at empty air. Melanie pulled up her already nonexistent skirt and tugged her sweater neckline down lower. Nathan reached over and touched Melanie's plunging neckline softly with two fingers.

"Hey, let's get the hell out of here" Melanie said, tugging on Nathan's shirt softly. Nathan felt the cold silver of his wedding ring on his finger when he pressed on Melanie's skin. _Oh, shit, Haley…I can't do this_.

"Melanie I can't-" Nathan was cut off when he caught sight of auburn hair out of the corner of his eye and turned around to see Haley standing there, her mouth wide open, her eyes filled with tears. Nathan realized his hand was still on Melanie's chest and withdrew it quickly. "Haley its not what it looks like" he sputtered.

"Oh it's exactly what it looks like- Nathan Scott, we are THROUGH" Haley spat, her voice shaking with anger. She threw his cell phone, which she had picked up on the floor when she was entering, at him, and it fell to the ground and cracked. Turning on her heel, she stomped out the club door, tears running down her face and her body shaking with anger, hurt, and confusion.

"Wait- Haley- HALEY!"

Someone once said you cannot discover new oceans if you do not have the courage to lose sight of the shore- but that's exactly what had gotten Scott father and son in trouble- losing sight of the shore, losing sight of the future, losing sight of what was right.

**A/N: Dun! Cliffhanger…keep in mind, all you hardcore Naley fans, how much I love Naley, Brucas, and Jeyton and exactly like that where each is with their respective partners…so don't worry. My stories always end happily. So a little Naley angst, but do not worry…and I was having a Haley hating moment (sorry Haley fans!) because I was remembering this season when she left poor Nathan for Chris the ass, and I wanted drama, and since Brucas is too precious to ruffle, I thought I'd give Naley a go- sorry lol! And the Anthony being a flirt thing- don't worry he's not like a pimp, everything he said I intended for him to mean, but I'm getting my anger with a certain boy out by making Anthony do things he did lol so don't worry- both Nathan and Anthony are and will remain good guys!  Review! **


	7. Our Mistakes and Their Consequences

Nathan sighed, throwing the covers off of Lucas and Brooke's guest bedroom bed. He was sober, after a horrible uncomfortable night of headaches. He recalled the past night's events with a sinking feeling- that Melanie bitch. What had he been thinking? Were the kids ok? Who was with them? _God, what are they gonna think about me?_ Nathan wondered to himself sorrowfully as he trudged down the stairs.

"Hey Brooke?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan…good morning" Brooke said sourly. It was obvious she was on Haley's side.

"Yah…who's with the kids?" Nathan pressed. He wasn't in the mood for Brooke.

"They're at Karen's" Brooke replied shortly, mixing Lena's milk.

"Where's Haley?" he asked timidly.

"I can't tell you that" Brooke said. "But I can tell you she's ok and safe"

"Ok- that's all I needed to hear" Nathan said, getting up and leaving the room silently. He knew Brooke was pissed off at him. He didn't know what he was thinking. He had seen the thunder in Haley's eyes and the heartbreak behind the harsh words and now all he wanted was to hold her and tell her it was gonna be ok. But she refused to talk to him.

"I'm gonna go see Haley" Brooke informed Lucas and Nathan snappishly an hour later. "Lena's asleep, when she wakes up, feed her- Madison's studying and Hayden's sleeping" Brooke informed him shortly.

"Alright babe tell her I said hi" Lucas said uncomfortably and pulled Brooke into a warm hug and kissed her. "I love you, don't forget that, ok?"

"Yeah" Brooke said, and turned around to leave.

In the limo, Brooke cried silent tears. If Nathan could so something like that to Haley…what was stopping Lucas from doing something like that to her?

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"Haley!" Brooke yelled, running into Peyton's house and hugging her best friend. "Honey, are you ok?"

"No" Haley said, her eyes swollen, voice and eyes tired. "How are the kids?" she asked worriedly.

"They're fine, they're at Karen's- they don't know what's going on but I think Karen told Anthony"

"Oh" Haley sniffed.

"Haley…" Brooke said, hugging Haley tighter. "I don't know what to say"

"I don't either" Haley murmured. "I mean I thought he was a trustworthy guy, we've been married for so long…and the poor kids" Haley sighed, tears running down her cheek and her chin quivering.

"Haley, I love you and I will always be on your side, you know that, right?" Brooke asked softly.

"Yah…" Haley said suspiciously.

"But I beg you to at least listen to him about what happened"

"Brooke! I know what happened! I SAW happened!" Haley exclaimed.

"Just talk to him, ok? Give him a chance- what makes you think after 20 years of marriage he would up and go cheat on you?"

"It's in his genes" Haley said sourly.

"Haley that's unfair" Brooke said softly.

"Whose side are you on, Brooke?" Haley asked sharply.

"I am and always will be on your side, Haley- but he's my brother in law and believe it or not, I hate to see him hurt, but I hate even more to see you hurt" Brooke said. "And think about the kids- they must be so confused and hurt and upset- if you do decide to end this" Brooke gulped. "You need to at least talk about it"

"Fine…he can come over tonight when I look decent" Haley consented.

"Ok" Brooke said, hugging Haley.

"Haley, we love you and we're gonna protect you from getting hurt anymore" Peyton said softly, hugging Haley and exchanging worried looks with Brooke. Haley sniffed and got up to go take a shower.

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"Mom?" Madison asked Brooke.

"Maddie…hey sweetie" Brooke said, hugging her daughter.

"Mom what's going on?" Madison asked, tears forming in her blue eyes.

"Maddie…" Brooke said, her throat constricting. She _hated_ seeing her children upset, especially Madison.

"Mom…we tell each other everything, you have to tell me what's going on, Anthony wont pick up his cell phone and why was Uncle Nathan here last night?"

"Madison…something very bad happened" Brooke explained the situation to her daughter. At the end Madison was almost on the verge of a breakdown.

"Does that mean they're getting divorced?"

"Honey I don't know…" Brooke said, taking Madison into her arms. "I don't know"

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"Karen…I wanna go home" Angelina whined.

"Angie, you're gonna have to wait" Karen sighed, sipping her coffee. This whole situation was driving her crazy. Anthony sat at the table, occasionally taking a bite of his breakfast. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He saw "Madison" flashing on the screen and picked it up reluctantly.

"Anthony?" she asked.

"Yah?"

"Come over to my house, ok? Tell Karen my mom said it was alright"

"Is my father there?" Anthony asked sharply.

"No"

"Fine…I'll call if we can't come"

"Okay" Madison said. "I love you"

"Love you too Maddie" Anthony said, hanging up the phone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"They're here Mom!" Madison yelled, running out to greet Anthony and Angelina. Madison pulled Anthony into a hug and he closed his eyes, happy to have someone he could talk to. He was thrilled he was at Madison's, it was like his second home.

"Anthony" Brooke said softly, pulling her nephew into a hug. She knew how much he trusted and admired his father and now…this.

"Angelina, baby, are you ok?" Lucas asked, picking up his tiny niece. She sniffled and settled against Lucas. Brooke and Lucas exchanged a quick look, and they all went inside the house. Angelina climbed into Madison's lap and they all just kind of sat there silently, except for an occasional sniffle from Angelina.

"Does anyone want something to eat?" Brooke asked, thinking that Anthony probably hadn't eaten since last night. Everyone shook their heads and the silence returned.

"Hey angel, do you wanna go to my room?" Madison asked Angelina, who nodded. "Mom I'll take Lenny" Brooke nodded and Madison picked Lena up and the trio went up to Madison's room.

"Anthony, why don't you go get some sleep, huh?" Lucas encouraged. Anthony nodded and went to "his" room.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Nathan came in.

"Nathan! Your kids are here!" Brooke whispered.

"What, I can't see them?"

"Not now! They're so pissed off at you" Brooke said.

"Fine…I'm gonna go sleep, ok?" he asked. Lucas and Brooke nodded uncertainly and he climbed the stairs and was about to walk past Madison's room when he heard a familiar voice and familiar crying.

"Maddie, did daddy do something bad?"

"Angie…I don't know" Madison said softly. Nathan peered sneakily through the crack of the door, and saw Angelina sitting there in Madison's lap, her face streaked with tears.

"Anthony said he did something bad to mommy- is she fine?"

"Angelina! Of course she's perfectly fine, she's at Peyton and Jake's. You can see her later"

"Anthony said she's hurt"

"I think her heart is hurt, Angelina"

"What did daddy do?"

"Angel…" Madison sighed, tears forming in her own eyes. How could she explain this to an 8 year old?

"Maddie, I wanna know!"

"Angelina"

"Fine" Angelina sobbed. Madison hugged her tighter and closed her eyes. Nathan felt tears well up in his own eyes. Not only had he lost the trust of the woman he was madly in love with, but now he had lost the trust of his children, the most important people to him in the world. It broke his heart to see his baby girl doubting him. Nathan immediately turned around and ran down the stairs and out the door, headed for Peyton and Jake's.

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"Brooke, are you alright?" Lucas asked Brooke. She ignored Lucas and continued watching TV. "Brooke!"

"What, Lucas?"

"Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something?" he asked.

"No" she said, her voice breaking.

"Brooke" he said, pulling her into a hug. "What's the matter?"

"If Nathan can cheat on Haley, what's stopping you from cheating on me?" she asked, tears threatening to spill over.

So this was what was bothering her. "Brooke! I would never cheat on you" Lucas said. "I love you way too much to do anything to hurt you"

"But Nathan loved Haley" she said.

"Brooke…please don't say things like that- I can't stand to see you cry" Lucas said, his throat constricting. He hugged Brooke tighter.

"I don't want anything to happen to us" she said.

"Nothing will ever happen to us. God, I can't be without you Brooke! I'd die if I wasn't with you" he said, pulling her closer to him and kissing her hair softly. "I love you way too much- don't ever think I'd do something to hurt you, ok?"

"Ok" Brooke sniffled. "I love you"

"I love you too" he said, hugging her tightly and kissing her. "More than you'll ever know"

**A/N: Emotional chapter, huh? Don't worry…it'll get better…REVIEW! And don't forget- I love Naley, Brucas, and Jeyton so I'd never seriously damage them at ALL. Hehe- REVIEW!**


	8. Talking Things Out

A few days had passed since the Haley and Nathan incident, yet nothing seemed to have progressed for the two of them. Haley was still refusing to talk to Nathan, and he was desperate for any communication with her to let her know what was going on. She had previously agreed to talk to him but then was overcome with such anger that she slammed the door in his face.

"Good morning Anthony" Lucas smiled, handing him a muffin. He mustered up a smile and sat down on the stool. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah" he nodded. Madison walked in sleepily, yawning and shuffling her feet.

"Madison!" Lucas greeted cheerfully. "Good morning!"

"What's so good about it?" Madison asked shortly, grabbing some apple juice and plopping down on the couch.

"Oh get over yourself Madison" Hayden snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on here?" Brooke asked, looking up from playing with Lena. "Why is everyone in such a bad mood? Hayden, apologize to Madison, and Madison, why is your morning not good?"

"Sorry Maddie"

"Its ok…it's just not good" Madison sighed, clanking her spoon against the side of the bowl.

"Hey..." Lucas said, hugging his daughter. "You ok, baby? You don't seem normal"

"I'm fine, dad" Madison sighed, getting up and practically shooting up the stairs. Brooke and Lucas exchanged a look and Brooke returned to playing blocks with Lena.

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"I don't wanna talk to you Dad" Anthony said, shutting the door.

"Anthony…" Nathan pleaded.

"What?" Anthony snapped.

"Just let me explain" Nathan sighed.

"Explain what? How you cheated on mom- cause I already know that story, Dad"

"Look-" Nathan pleaded.

"Look what? You told me 5 hours before you went and cheated on mom with some girl that you should always watch out for girls' feelings because they're sensitive and that you had hurt mom a lot in the past- well you hurt her again and now I'm just even more convinced that your speech was utter crap" Anthony practically yelled. "Mom is in tears day and night and I can't get Angelina to SLEEP at night, Dad, she's so heartbroken that you guys wont talk- I have to stay up all night to tell her that no one's gonna leave her! And you didn't even bother to come check on us!"

"I wanted to, but Brooke and Lucas told me that you didn't wanna see me and I didn't wanna push it with anyone, so I waited till I was sure it was gonna be ok-I'm sorry" Nathan said.

"I don't wanna hear your sob story dad, and don't apologize to me, apologize to mom" Anthony snapped.

"You know how many times I've tried to apologize to her? I love her, Anthony, you don't understand how much I love her, you're 12 years old! I was drunk and stupid- I didn't mean a single thing that I did" Nathan said, his voice rising and then falling again.

"Whatever, Dad"

"Ok, fine, use the whatever line, but I love your mother and you and Angelina more than anything in this entire world, and I cannot be without her…I hope you understand that" Nathan said quietly, turning around to walk out the door. Anthony watched his father's tall lean figure turning around the corner and saw Madison's small frame bouncing into his room. Seeing the look on his face and remembering that she had seen Nathan walking with his head hung down, she put two and two together and pulled Anthony into a hug.

"I'm so sorry Anthony" she said softly.

"Yah…me too"

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"Haley…Nathan's here" Peyton said quietly, leaving the room to give Haley and Nathan privacy.

"Hey Haley" Nathan said softly, squinting his eyes and stepping back a little. Haley looked gorgeous in a soft cashmere sweater and jeans, her hair falling gracefully in natural curls.

"Hi"

"Can I just talk for a while and then you can yell at me?" he asked.

"Fine" she said, sitting down on the couch.

"Firstly, Haley, I wanna apologize for what I did- it was 100 completely wrong and my fault and I accept all blame and deserve to be yelled at. Secondly, Haley, I was drunk, and tired from the game. I was in a bad position with a stupid whore who could never, ever compare to you, and I want you to know that absolutely nothing happened"

"Nothing happened, Nathan? Nothing happened! You were practically feeling the girl up!"

"I know but that was it. I hadn't even left the club, or moved from my seat, for that matter"

"I don't care what happened, Nathan, you had the audacity to practically cheat on your wife…I thought we had more than that" Haley said, her voice quivering and tears forming in her eyes again.

"Haley, I didn't mean to, I didn't WANT to…alcohol does a lot to your judgment and the girl was about to lead me out of the club but I saw my ring and even through my haze remembered you and I didn't want to go with the girl, I wasn't going to"

"Thanks for remembering me, because you know, you've only been married to me for 20 years" Haley snapped sarcastically.

"Haley will you just believe me? I'm sorry, sorrier than I'll ever be for anything in the world. I love you so much, Haley, and I can't live without you"

"Well if you can't live without me then I for the life of me can't understand why you would do something like that to me" Haley said, her tears spilling over and her sobs echoing through the expansive room. "I'm not so much angry as I am heartbroken…I thought you loved me, Nathan"

"I do love you Haley, god, don't say that I don't" Nathan said, tears forming in his own eyes.

"Nathan…" Haley sobbed. Nathan instinctively wanted to put his arms around her, but he didn't in fear she would freak out. "Just go"

"Ok…I love you Haley" Nathan said, walking out the door and closing it behind him.

"I love you too" she whispered.

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"Nathan! Dude! I have good news" Mike yelled into Nathan's cell phone.

"What?" Nathan asked half heartedly.

"You know the Melanie girl?"

"Yah?" Nathan asked, his attention captured.

"I thought she had drugged your drink when I saw her running her finger at the edges of the glass so when you ran after Haley I grabbed the glass and took it to my wife and she does scientific drug testing and they tested it and she drugged your drink! I have the official papers"

"Mike…dude…you saved my ass and relationship with Haley…come over as soon as you can, ok? So I can take the papers to her, ok?"

"Ok"

"And Mike?"

"Yah"

"Thanks dude"

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Brooke rolled out of bed after her afternoon nap and as she walked past Lucas, he pulled her back into bed with him.

"Lucas" Brooke laughed, kissing him.

"Brooke…" he said, pulling her under the covers with him and wrapping his arms around her.

"Lucas we've been in bed for 3 hours…we need to get up" Brooke giggled. Lucas kissed her neck and ran his fingers up and down her arms softly.

"Ok…no we don't" she giggled, turning around to kiss him.

"That's right…I love you Brooke" Lucas whispered.

"Aw…I love you too" Brooke giggled as she buried her head in Lucas's bare chest.

"And you look beautiful"

"Hardly, Lucas" Brooke pointed at her disheveled hair.

"I still think you look beautiful" Lucas said. "I always think you look beautiful"

"Thank you Lucas that's really sweet" Brooke said softly, kissing him. Lucas shuddered slightly when he felt her soft hair swing across his chest. He kissed her softly and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Hey Broody…"

"Yah?"

"Where are the kids?"

"Out back by the pool…"

"Well then" Brooke giggled, kissing Lucas seductively on his cheek and running a fingernail down his arm. "Consider yourself a lucky man"

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"So she drugged your drink?" Haley asked, shuffling through the papers.

"Yeah…but that makes what I did still wrong, but I thought this might prove to you that I didn't mean to" Nathan said softly. Haley looked up, a tiny sparkle showing in her eyes that gave Nathan hope.

"Nathan…I'm forced to believe you" Haley said. "But what you did was still wrong"

"Definitely, no denying it" Nathan said. "But I love you Haley, too much for my own good- I couldn't stand the thought of being without you these last few days"

"Nathan…" Haley said. He held out his arms and enveloped his wife in a hug.

"I would never hurt you intentionally Haley, I love you so damn much" he whispered into her hair.

"I know Nathan" Haley said, burying her head in his chest. He stroked her hair, happy to have her back in his arms.

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"Hey Catherine" Anthony smiled, sitting down on Brooke and Lucas's couch where everyone was hanging out.

"Hey" she smiled back, looking up from playing with Lena. Madison eyed Anthony carefully, hinting something.

"Can we talk?" he asked, pointing to the guest bedroom. Madison worked hard to conceal her smile as she saw Anthony and Catherine leave the room and shared a look with Brooke.

"Catherine?"

"Yah?"

"I'm sorry" Anthony said. "Really, really sorry"

"Its ok…I am too" Catherine smiled, the sparkle in her hazel eyes returning faster than you could say "true love".

**A/N: WOOT! Chapter 8…Naley is ok…aren't you happy? It'll be fluff for a while until I conjure up some dramaaaa. REVIEW! **


	9. Family and Friends Forever

"I love Spring Break" Madison yawned, padding into her parent's room.

"Good morning Maddie" Lucas held out his arms to his oldest daughter and Madison climbed into bed with Brooke and Lucas.

"Maddie I thought you passed the stage of sleeping with mommy and daddy?" Brooke said in a mock baby voice. Madison rolled her eyes and snuggled deeper under the covers.

"Remember when it was just the three of us?" Lucas asked, remembering the old times.

"Before Hayden and Lena it was just us three musketeers" Brooke giggled, rolling over to kiss Lucas. He smiled and stroked her hair softly.

"Aw…but I love Lenny" Madison giggled, thinking about her little sister.

"We do too" Brooke giggled, glancing over at the crib where 8 month old Lena was sleeping quietly, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.

"She's so cute" Madison laughed.

"I know…mini me and Lucas combined"

"Blonde hair hazel eyes…the girl's gonna be gorgeous" Madison commented.

"Like you already don't get enough boys" Lucas groaned. "I have to deal with my little baby girl having boys chasing after her?"

"Oh Lucas…you'll have to deal with this until they get married" Brooke giggled, burying her head in Lucas's bare chest. Madison gagged and then seeing the look on Brooke's face burst out into laughter.

"Dad, she sleeps on your chest, doesn't she?" Madison asked.

"Oh yah…big time"

"It's a good cardio workout for you, shut up Lucas" Brooke giggled, kissing him softly. He closed his eyes and suddenly realized his 11 year old was in the room.

"Ok! Get up time" Lucas said.

"No…daddy…" Madison whined.

"Madison…" Lucas laughed. "Get your sister up"

"Hey, she got up all by herself" Madison giggled, picking Lena up out of her crib and plopping the baby down on the bed.

"Hi Lenny" Brooke cooed, kissing Lena.

"Hey baby" Lucas said, picking her up and sitting her on his chest. Lena giggled and bounced up and down.

"I think she gets her bouncy trait from you, Madison" Brooke giggled.

"I love bouncing…I love my trampoline"

"I don't like that thing…its dangerous" Lucas said.

"Oh quit being a party pooper, Lucas" Brooke giggled. "It keeps me and Madison in shape"

"Yah, dad" Madison laughed. "Cause mom REALLY needs to be in shape"

"Hey! I'm almost-shudder-forty" Brooke groaned. "So I need the workout"

"Come on girls…up!" Lucas laughed. Brooke groaned and Lucas helped pull her up. Madison sighed and pulled herself up and got out of bed.

"What's for breakfast?" Hayden asked, walking into the room 20 minutes later.

"Breakfast?" Brooke asked, giggling and pointing at the clock. "You mean lunch?"

"Yes, lunch" Hayden laughed, sitting down.

"Well Martha made pasta…" Brooke giggled, seeing the look of sheer joy pass over Madison and Lucas's faces. They both shared a common obsession with pasta, while she and Hayden preferred mashed potatoes.

"No mashed potatoes?" Hayden asked sadly.

"Nope, sorry baby" Brooke giggled.

"Ugh…" Hayden groaned, spooning spoons full of pasta into his plate.

"Well you seem to not mind the pasta THAT much" Madison giggled, pointing at the plate piled with food.

"I don't" he talked through a mouthful.

"Don't talk, Hayden, or you'll choke" Brooke giggled. "Wow, I sounded like a TV mother" Brooke laughed.

"You're so cute, Cheery"

"I love you, Broody" she said, blowing him a kiss.

"Mom…phone!" Madison yelled, rushing to get it. "ALEXIS!" she shrieked.

"Hey Maddie…how are you?" Alexis laughed, hearing the commotion in the background.

"Good! How are you? The baby?"

"We're both in top condition…how's Spring Break?"

"Just started- two weeks!"

"Ooh! I loved Spring Break in school…so I have exciting news"

"What?" Madison asked. Alexis was now on speaker phone and everyone listened with bated breath.

"I'm coming to visit for 3 weeks" Alexis said. Cheers erupted through the entire room as Brooke and Lucas yelled to ask her flight times. She said she was coming in 5 days, and it was at blah airport. Madison tuned all the technical information out and immediately dialed everyone and left messages yelling that Alexis was coming. Karen was overjoyed to hear and so was Andy and everyone was thrilled she was coming to visit.

"I'm glad my baby sister is coming home for a little while" Lucas sighed happily.

"You know what this means, Madison?"

"Shopping?"

"No, we get to boss cleaning crews around!" Brooke squealed excitedly. Madison rolled her eyes and hugged her mother. "And shopping" Brooke added.

"I'm so excited!" Madison giggled. She was really the only one of Hayden and Lena who remembered and loved Alexis. Hayden barely knew Alexis and Lena hadn't even met her.

"I know…Lucas, go get Martha to get our cleaning crew, me and Madison are gonna go shopping so we have all new outfits for Alexis's arrival" Brooke informed them importantly. "We can make a pit stop to pick Peyt, Kitty, Haley and Angie, and then we'll be at the mall, spending all you, Nathan, and Jake's money!"

"Have fun" Lucas said, pulling Brooke into a kiss while Madison rushed upstairs to get her purse and put in her contacts. He ushered her into a corner and kissed her again. "I love you Brooke, you know that, right?" he asked, taking her hand and playing with her engagement ring.

"Yes" Brooke smiled, kissing Lucas. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her scent.

"Don't ever forget it, ok?"

"I wont…same to you" Brooke smiled, kissing Lucas one last time before he let her go. "Watch our baby, ok?"

"Of course…come on Hayden, lets go do manly things" Lucas laughed, grabbing Lena. "After I give your little sister a bath"

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"Maddie, aren't those jeans kind of loose?"

"Mom, I wanna be able to move" Madison laughed. "They're tight enough, believe me"

"Well squeeze ME for trying to be cool" Brooke said, looking as young and stunning as she did 15 years ago.

"God I hate you Brooke" Peyton whined. "You have a perfect body"

"Of course I do- I carry around a 25 pound baby around all the time with me" Brooke giggled. "Cute top"

"Thanks" Peyton said, turning to admire her figure. "God I wish I had a fuller figure"

"Like me?" Brooke giggled.

"Yes, like you- miss perfect hourglass shape"

"Well…I was blessed with it" Brooke laughed. "And my body suits me; yours suits you, so…"

"Uh…Jenny has bigger boobs than me, and I'm almost 40"

"Still…hey, there's always plastic surgery!"

"Brooke, you know how I feel about that" Peyton laughed.

"So Catherine…what's going on with Anthony?" Madison asked quietly, admiring herself in a skirt.

"Good…we're friends again"

"Good! That's great!" Madison squealed. "Progress is good"

"Yeah…definitely"

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"I want the floor SPOTLESS!" Madison commanded.

"Yes, Miss Madison" the worker said, looking mad that he had to take orders from an 11 year old.

"Madison, are you bossing the cleaning crew around?" Brooke asked.

"Yes…"

"I have raised you well" Brooke giggled.

"That you have, mom" Madison giggled, admiring the spotless dining hall.

"This place looks SO clean"

"Oh I know…so do you think Lexy will wanna move back?" Madison asked timidly.

"Honey…don't count on it" Brooke said softly.

"But mom…"

"I know you want her back, we all do…but Matthew's job…"

"Screw Matthew! She's miserable in California! She hates it there and the friends she has there don't even compare to you guys and us here! Doesn't he understand that? And with the new baby, she's gonna want Grandma's help, mom, you have to convince her to stay!" Madison said her voice breaking. "Mom, I miss my best friend"

"Honey…I miss my little sister and my best friend and my sister in law…but what can we do? She's married now, she's in love, she's starting a family, and we can't change that"

"I know…" Madison sighed. "But I wish I could"

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"Conrad…I'm sorry" Madison sighed.

"Madison- we're through" Conrad said firmly.

"I know, I'm the one breaking up with YOU" Madison snapped.

"Because I'm too clingy?"

"Yah, you are. I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore" Madison said, turning on her heel to leave. "I hope we can still be friends"

"Bull crap, Madison, we can never be friends again" Conrad said, looking like he had had his heart ripped out. "Not only is our relationship over, so is our friendship" he said.

"Conrad-"

"Bye, Madison"

**A/N: Aww…they broke up- sorry! There is a method to my madness…short chapter, next one will be longer, I promise. This chapter was like a filler…so yah. Lol…REVIEW! **


	10. Living Our Life

"Omg mom I am so excited!" Madison shrieked. Brooke nodded with excitement and rubbed Lena's back gently.

"I haven't seen Lexy in a year…my baby Lenny hasn't seen her ever, have you baby?" Brooke cooed. Lena giggled and bounced and grabbed Brooke's shirt. "Aw I love you too" Brooke said.

"Hey Lena, can I have a hug?" Madison asked, stretching her arms out. Lena giggled and gave Madison a baby hug.

"Aw she gives hugs?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah…she gives you hugs all the time, Daddy, you're just too busy to notice" Brooke giggled, kissing Lucas.

"Aw I'm sorry baby girl" Lucas said, taking Lena from Brooke and kissing her. "You're daddy's princess"

"Hey, what about me?" Madison asked.

"You're my first princess" Lucas laughed.

"I better be" Madison giggled.

"I can't wait to see her tomorrow! When does her flight land?" Brooke asked Lucas.

"At 3"

"In the morning!"

"No, babe, afternoon" Lucas laughed, kissing Brooke. Brooke pouted and smacked Lucas but giggled anyway. Madison rolled her eyes and picked Lena up.

"I'm gonna go get ready and Lenny's gonna help me, so you guys do…whatever" Madison said.

"Ok" Lucas laughed, watching Madison's back retreat out the door.

"Ah…our children"

"I know" Lucas laughed, turning over to kiss Brooke.

"Lucas…we can't"

"What Brooke why not?"

"Little people in the house" Brooke giggled.

"But-"

"My horny little husband" Brooke laughed. "When they go to bed"

"But we haven't even gotten out of bed"

"I know baby…I'm sorry"

"But you look hot" he murmured into her hair.

"Believe me Lucas you look really good right now but I don't wanna scar our babies for life" Brooke giggled, wiggling out of his grasp.

"Fine" Lucas sighed, his eyes dancing at the sight of Brooke's straight hair and glowing hazel eyes. "But seriously…you look beautiful"

"Aw thanks" Brooke smiled, sending shivers down Lucas's back. She giggled and buried her head in the pillow. He kissed her hair and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"I love you Brooke"

"Love you too" she whispered.

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"Hey guys!" Brooke greeted Haley, Peyton, Jake, Nathan, and the kids.

A chorus of hellos were returned as everyone sat down on the couch, ready to talk about Alexis and what they were gonna do.

"I'm SO happy she's coming back to visit" Peyton squealed. "We've all missed her SO much"

"I know" Brooke giggled. "I miss her"

"I miss her too" Nathan sighed. "It sucks to not see your sister for a year"

"Tell me about it" Lucas said.

"Aw" Haley and Peyton chorused. Brooke giggled and rolled her eyes and the guy's cheek's tinged with pink as they realized how corny they sounded.

"You know it's you girls' fault we're so cheesy now" Lucas said. "We don't actually mean to be" A frown quickly flashed across Brooke's face but no one saw it.

"Come on Anthony, Kitty, lets go up to my room" Madison ushered her cousin and best friend upstairs. The three friends collapsed on Madison's bed.

"I'm so excited Alexis is coming back" Madison said, and Catherine and Anthony nodded.

"I know! I miss her SO much" Catherine said, tossing her straightened, long blonde over her shoulder. Her already long and beautiful eyelashes were darkened with mascara and a trace of eyeliner could be seen.

"Wearing makeup now Catherine?" Madison asked, laughing.

"Yah…how does it look?" Catherine asked, admiring herself in the full length mirror.

"Oh my god not again you guys, if you're gonna start talking about Orlando Bloom and makeup again, I'm leaving" Anthony groaned, knowing he wasn't gonna leave anyway.

"What! No" Madison giggled, throwing her pillow at Anthony. He groaned and rolled over on his side to admire Catherine discreetly. She was brushing her hair in Madison's mirror.

"Your hair is long, Catherine" Anthony commented.

"Yah, it is" Catherine said, running a hand through her hair. "I love it!"

"It looks good on you" Anthony said.

"Thanks" Catherine said, her heart fluttering. Madison giggled but clapped her hand over her mouth just in time.

"Catherine, can we talk? Outside?" Anthony asked. Madison giggled again and ushered Catherine and Anthony out of the room.

"Look, Anthony"

"No, Catherine, will you just let me talk?"

"Yeah" she sighed. "Go ahead"

"I like you, and I like you a lot- I've known you forever and now I want more than friendship…will you go to Spring Formal with me?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure" Catherine smiled. "I would love to"

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"Hey baby" Lucas said, plopping down on the couch and kissing Brooke.

"Hi" Brooke said shortly.

"What's new?"

"Nothing"

"Brooke?"

"Yah?"

"You ok?"

"Yeah"

"Why are you acting like this?" Lucas asked.

"Acting like what, Lucas? Cheesy?" Brooke snapped.

"What?" he asked.

"Your earlier comment- 'you girls make us cheesy, we don't actually mean it'- I guess I'm being cheesy"

"Brooke, you're making no sense"

"Making no sense? That's great, Lucas" Brooke said, tears building up in her eyes.

"Brooke, baby, why are you crying?" Lucas asked, pulling her into a hug. "Damn Brooke don't cry like this you know I can't stand to see you cry"

"Lucas all those sweet cheesy things you did like the 'I love yous' and roses and necklaces you didn't mean?"

"Brooke, sweetie, I wasn't saying that when I made that comment" Lucas said, stroking her hair. "I did all of that stuff because I wanted to, I love you! We were just playing around…"

"But Lucas I need to know if you actually love me, or you're just pretending"

"Brooke…" Lucas said, kissing her hair. "Don't say stuff like that, I love you more than life itself, we have three children together and I love you more than you'll ever know…why would you ever doubt our relationship?"

"Because I wonder every night if all the people who say they love me actually love me" Brooke sobbed. "I don't know why, but I guess growing up with my parents, you can never be too sure"

"Baby…everyone loves you. Look at how Madison adores you. Look at how Hayden turns to you for everything. Look at how Lena throws a fit whenever she doesn't have her mama with her…look at how I would die if you weren't with me forever" Lucas whispered. "And as cheesy as THIS sounds…I love you. I can't be without you, Brooke"

Brooke wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Lucas pulled her into a hug. Insecurities were running rampant in Brooke's head, and he couldn't for the life of him decipher why.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was kind of pointless- but hey, there was some action, right? I might start another story, just because I need some fresh writing material- but I will definitely continue updating this one! Review even though this chapter sucked...lol! **


	11. Glad You Could Visit

"Mom, wake up! Dad! Alexis is coming today!" Madison yelled, running into Brooke and Lucas's bedroom.

"What, Maddie?" Brooke asked sleepily.

"It's 1 and her flight lands in an hour and a half"

"Oh crap come on we have to get out of bed" Brooke whined, tugging on Lucas's arm.

"What…why?" Lucas grumbled.

"Cause Alexis's flight lands in like an hour and a half" Brooke giggled, kissing Lucas's forehead.

"Alright, alright" he laughed, opening his eyes and yawning. "Good morning"

"Morning cute stuff" Brooke giggled, kissing him quickly and hopping out of bed. "Shower, Mr. Scott?"

"Of course, Mrs. Scott, I would never pass up that wonderful opportunity" Lucas laughed, getting out of bed and following Brooke into their bathroom.

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Everyone was gathered at Brooke and Lucas's, waiting for the limo to bring Alexis back to the house. The grown ups were chattering about Alexis and the kids were talking quietly amongst themselves.

"So Catherine, what went on with you and Anthony the other night?" Madison inquired nosily.

"He asked me to formal" Catherine's eyes sparkled with happiness.

"Oh my gosh! That's so exciting!" Madison squealed.

"I know…I think it may progress from there…I was being really stupid and dramatic with all that hiding from him and crying and fits and stuff…we're just friends for right now, maybe it'll grow into more, maybe it wont" Catherine said wisely. "All we both need right now is not to fight and destroy our friendship"

"That is SO exciting!" Madison giggled. "I can't find anything other to say then that is so exciting" Madison laughed. "But it is"

"Yah…how are you and Conrad doing? Does he wanna be friends again?"

"No, he doesn't, but that's his loss, isn't it?" Madison said, her heart aching at the thought of her boyfriend who'd been with her since they were basically 3.

"Definitely…but what made you break up with him, Maddie? You guys have been friends since you were toddlers"

"I just…didn't feel anything anymore" Madison sighed.

"I understand" Catherine said. "But are you looking for anyone else?"

"No, no I'm fine boyfriend less" Madison giggled.

"Hey ladies" Anthony said, sitting down next to Catherine. "What's up?"

"Oh you know…just talking about you" Catherine teased.

"Really?" Anthony asked flirtatiously, playing with the ends of Catherine's hair. "Were you saying good things, or bad things?"

"Hmm well we can't tell you that" Catherine giggled.

"Fine" Anthony pouted.

"God, Anthony, you look exactly like Nathan when you pout" Brooke giggled.

"Well he is my child" Nathan laughed.

"I'm daddy's princess" Angelina informed everyone importantly.

"That you are baby" Nathan laughed, letting Angelina climb into his arms.

"My princess doesn't know that she's my princess yet" Lucas laughed, pointing at Lena, who was sound asleep between Madison and Catherine.

"Omg the limo's here!" Madison shrieked, and everyone ran to the door. "Alexis!" Madison shouted, throwing the door open and hugging her.

"I can't believe I'm home! Hi everyone!" Alexis said, hugging everyone in turn. "Where's Lena, I haven't seen her!" Brooke ran to get Lena, who was sitting up looking around worriedly.

"Hey sweetie it's ok, mamas here" Brooke said soothingly, picking Lena up. "Here she is"

"Oh Brooke she's adorable…she's a perfect mix of you and Lucas" Alexis cooed, taking Lena from Brooke. They all followed her into the living room.

"How was your flight?" Brooke asked.

"It was good- long, but good" Alexis laughed. "What's going on here?"

"Well, the last few days have been crazy and anxious, waiting for you" Nathan laughed, hugging his little sister, and Lucas did the same.

"I should call Matt" Alexis said. "I told him I'd call when I landed"

"Here" Brooke said, handing her the phone.

"Thanks" Alexis said, stepping out of the room. "Hey babe" she said when Matthew picked up the phone.

"My wife! How was the flight?"

"Good" Alexis laughed. "I miss you already"

"I miss you too- hug everyone for me, ok? And tell the nieces and nephews I said hi"

"Ok, I love you"

"Love you too, Alexis…bye"

"Bye!"

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"Mom, I'm going out with Adrian, ok?" Madison called over her shoulder as she made her way out the door. "I have my cell on me!"

"Alright Madison…have fun…make good choices" Brooke giggled.

"Bye Dad"

"Bye princess" Lucas sighed, wrapping his arms around Brooke. "Another boyfriend?"

"Chill, daddy, she'll be over him in no time" Brooke said, kissing Lucas.

"NO, she was with Conrad for like 5 years"

"I know honey but Adrian is different, he's not Conrad, he hasn't had such a big role in Madison's life…they wont be together for long"

"I'm taking your word for it…" Lucas said, burying his head in her hair and breathing in her scent.

oooooooooooooooo

"Hey Maddie…you look nice" Adrian smiled.

"Thanks, you look good too" Madison answered. "So what movie are we seeing?"

"Whichever one you want" Adrian said. After their movie, Madison and Adrian went to walk on the boardwalk.

"So how are things going for you?" Adrian asked.

"Good…I'm excited about my new skirt that I'm designing"

"I'm sure it's great" Adrian smiled.

"I hope…my internship depends on it" Madison laughed nervously. "But anyway, what's going on with you?"

"Nothing really…school, I guess"

"And football?" Madison teased.

"Yes, and football" he admitted sheepishly. "How'd you know?"

"Come on Adrian, junior varsity"

"Not a big deal!"

"Yes, it is" Madison laughed. Adrian put an arm around her and they continued walking down the boardwalk.

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"Anthony" Catherine giggled. "Stop tickling me!"

"Fine…you have cotton candy all over your face though" Anthony laughed.

"Your fault! You suggested cotton candy, and it got me all hyper"

"I'm sorry…no more cotton candy for Catherine" Anthony laughed, grabbing her hand and helping her up. "Come on…boardwalk?"

"Yah!" Catherine smiled. She loved the boardwalk.

"Omg is that Madison…with Adrian?"

"Yes…Maddie!"

"Kitty! What are you doing here…ooh" Madison said when she saw Anthony. "Cousin dearest" she said, hugging Anthony.

"And you are…" Anthony asked Adrian rudely.

"Anthony!" Madison reprimanded.

"Sorry…protectiveness kicking in…hi, I'm Anthony, Madison's older cousin…you are?"

"Adrian…her…friend" Adrian fumbled.

"Oh…nice to meet you" Anthony managed a smile through his teeth. "Ok we should go, Catherine…see you tonight, Madison"

"Later Anthony…call me kitty" Madison said. Catherine nodded.

"So that was sufficiently awkward" Catherine commented to Anthony.

"I don't like him…" Anthony muttered. "I'm gonna talk to Uncle Luke, he's a major player"

"What! No you're gonna ruin Madison's relationship she's gonna be furious with you"

"But Catherine…"

"Anthony, no, ok? Just be trusting…I know you care about Madison like an older brother, but you can't squash her, ok? You already pissed her off enough by yelling at Conrad"

"How was I supposed to know she had broken up with him?"

"By finding out first! Ask me before you go and do stupid things like that" Catherine laughed.

"Yes ma'am"

"Good boy" she cooed, patting him on the head. Anthony laughed and swatted her hand away, but ended up grabbing it and interlacing his fingers between hers.

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The bell rang in the house and Madison and Anthony ran to get it.

"Who are you?" Madison asked the man standing at the door.

"Your grandfather"


	12. The Calm Before The Storm

"Oh mom and dad are gonna love this…" Madison muttered to herself. "Mom! Come to the door right now! Bring dad" Madison shrieked.

Brooke and Lucas came running to the door. Both mouths fell open as they saw who was standing at the door- Dan Scott.

"Madison, Anthony, go upstairs and take the kids with you" Brooke ordered. Both obeyed and ran upstairs, Madison taking Lena from Brooke's arms and ushering Hayden and Angelina upstairs.

"Who's that, Anthony?" Angelina asked.

"I don't know, Angelina" Anthony said.

"Neither do I…we were told our grandfather was dead" Madison said, confused.

"Same here…" Anthony said. "Weird"

"Ok well we'll let mom and dad deal with it" Madison said.

"Mama"

"Lena, baby, I'm sorry, mommy's not here" Madison told an extremely articulate almost one year old Lena.

"Mama"

"Lena…" Madison said, frustrated, taking the baby and plopping her down in her lap. "Sleepy?"

"Mama"

"Ugh, Anthony, do something!"

"Mama"

"Who's that" Anthony asked, pointing at Madison.

"Mama"

"Madison sounds like mama to a baby, I guess" Angelina giggled. "Who's that?" she pointed at Hayden.

"Mama"

"Ok it's the only word she knows, I guess" Madison giggled.

_Meanwhile, downstairs…_

"What the hell are you doing here, Dan?" Lucas asked.

"I'm here to make amends, Luke…with you, and my daughter in law and my grandchildren"

"Ok, you can leave now…remind me why they let you out of prison?"

"I was released early…look I'm sorry"

"I'm not…go away" Lucas shut the door in Dan's face.

"Hey baby are you ok?" Brooke asked Lucas, putting an arm around him.

"Yeah…" Lucas said. "Just a little shocked"

"I would be too…its ok" Brooke comforted, kissing his forehead. "I'm here with you"

"I couldn't do it without you, Brooke" he said, kissing her. "Never"

_Over in Dan's lair…_

"Stupid man will pay for shutting the door in my face" Dan snarled to Frank, his assistant. "Pay big time"

"I agree, sir, I agree"

"You know, I might give you a raise. Does a man's heart good to see help that actually helps"

"Yes, sir" the assistant said, straightening Dan's collar. "I'm here if you need anything"

"Right…a coffee would be good"

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"I'm so worried, Brooke"

"Worried about?"

"Having a baby…it's such a big responsibility" Alexis said.

"I know you'll be fine though" Brooke comforted. "And Matthew will help"

"I badly wish I lived here…I need help from you and mom and…"

"You should think about staying here until the baby's like at least 6 months old, Alexis…you can't do this alone, not with Matthew working so much" Brooke analyzed.

"I think he works too much, he wants to give me a good life…which is, we have an estate for god's sake" Alexis sighed. "Sometime I think he works to get away from me"

"Not true, Lexy! You've been married for 8 years now, come on, no marriage could last that long if you guys didn't love each other…what time does he come home?"

"6:00"

"That's not bad, Lexy…" Brooke laughed. "You're just feeling it because you have to stay home for the baby"

"Yeah…I guess" Alexis laughed.

"So any name choices yet?"

"No…we're gonna wait to find out whether it's a girl or a boy before we do that" Alexis said.

"I had Madison's name planned out way before"

"I remember! I helped you with that" Alexis giggled.

"Yeah!" Brooke laughed. "Good old times"

"Definitely…it's been 8 years, and I still miss Tree Hill" Alexis sighed. "A lot"

"You know, Lexy, you should consider moving back…like in all realistic views, a new baby, a young parent…" Brooke said. "We can all help you out"

"Yeah…I'm gonna have to talk to Matthew, I know he wants to be with the baby"

"Yeah, well just think about it, ok?"

"Ok"

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Brooke, Lucas, Madison, Hayden, and Lena were sitting at the dinner table, chatting.

"Mom…who's Dan?" Madison asked.

"The devil" Brooke giggled.

"Brooke!" Lucas reprimanded. She giggled again and he laughed.

"Mom?" Madison implored.

"Honey…a bad, bad man" Brooke said.

"Is he our grandfather?"

"Yeah…"

"Then why did you tell us our entire life that he was dead?" Madison asked.

"Because he's a horrible person" Lucas said. "An insane monster of a being"

"What did he do?" a curious Madison asked.

"He basically destroyed your father's life" Brooke explained. "When Grandma Karen had your dad, it was your grandfather Dan's baby, but he left her for Deb, who had your uncle Nathan, and then he married her but basically drove the woman crazy for the 20 years of their married life…so then they divorced and he was sent to jail after trying to kidnap Anthony, and he's also your aunt Alexis's father…she was adopted by Karen but then they found out she was actually Lucas and Nathan's sister…Maddie, you were just a baby when that happened" Brooke breathed in air because she'd been talking so fast.

"Wow…we have a screwed up family" Hayden commented.

"True that" Brooke laughed. "But he's not a good guy, and we'd rather that you're not exposed to him because he's bad…bad!"

"Ba" Lena giggled.

"Yeah baby, bad!" Brooke said, exchanging looks with Lucas.

"We taught her who's who, mom! She is SO smart" Madison said excitedly.

"Yeah? Show us!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Ok…hey Lenny, look over here" Lena turned her head to look at Madison. "Ok baby, who's that?" Madison asked, pointing at Brooke.

"Mama"

"That's right! And who's that?" Madison asked, pointing at Lucas.

"Dada"

"What'd I say? Baby genius…and Lenny, who's this?" Madison asked, pointing to herself.

"Mammy"

"You got the Maddie sound" Madison laughed. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing at Hayden.

"Mama"

"Ok no baby that's Hayden" Madison laughed.

"Our daughter is a genius" Lucas informed Brooke importantly, kissing her. "An absolute brilliant mind"

"I know! She's barely 1 and can already identify all of us!"

"Smart, smart child, huh baby?" Lucas asked softly, picking her up out of her crib and sitting her down in his lap.

"Dada"

"Yeah angel"'

"Ok I'm gonna go, mom…I'm going out with Adrian again" Madison informed her.

"Ooh…any kisses yet?" Brooke asked.

"Brooke! My 12 year old isn't kissing anyone! And I don't like that Adrian boy…"

"You didn't like Conrad or Jackson"

"Well…I'm allowed to not like them" Lucas whined.

"Daddy…"

"Sorry teddy bear…have fun, and be safe, ok?"

"Ok…and please don't call me teddy bear?"

"Sorry…bye Madison" Lucas laughed.

"Dad…Mom…I'll call you"

"Alright girly...bye!"

"Why are you two so close?" Lucas whined. "I feel like I barely know her! What if this Adrian guy is totally different from what we imagined him to be?"

"Lucas, honey, calm down…it's ok" Brooke laughed, caressing his arm. "She's got a good head on her shoulders, she'll be fine"

"I don't know…"

"She'll be fine"

"Lena's never dating"

"Whatever floats your boat, babe"

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"So Dan like kidnapped me for a day?"

"Yeah…it was a really scary time for us and he actually got sent to jail for it" Haley explained to Anthony and Angelina, who were sitting there in complete awe.

"We were always told he died"

"Yeah…we did that to protect you guys- seriously" Haley pleaded. "And to us, after all he did, he was dead"

"Yeah" Nathan said. "We hope you guys understand…"

"Definitely, mom, dad…he doesn't sound too peachy anyway" Anthony laughed. "Anyway, dad- you and me, one on one?"

"Bring it on, sonny!" Nathan yelled, chasing his oldest child out the door.

"Wanna cook, Angel?"

"Yeah! Cookies"

"We made those yesterday" Haley laughed, hugging her daughter.

"Well, they were good and daddy and Anthony ate them all!" Angelina protested. "And I love cookies"

"How about we make like bread or something?"

"Hawaiian?" Angelina asked excitedly.

"Whatever you want, babe"

"I love Hawaiian bread! It's so good…and then it's all warm and Anthony eats it" Angelina giggled. "Mommy…can I ask you a question?"

"Yes sweetie"

"Will you have another baby like Aunt Alexis?"

"Sweetie…I think I'm a little too old to handle a newborn baby, don't you think?" Haley laughed.

"No! I want a baby sister"

"Lena's like your baby sister" Haley pointed out.

"Yeah…true"

"I suppose another baby would be fun" Haley laughed. "We'll see, Angie"

"Ok"

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"Madison! Come here!" Brooke called.

"Yeah mom?"

"Which one do you like better?" Brooke asked, holding up a halter and a tank top.

"The tank top…ooh date with dad?" Madison asked.

"It's my date with _destiny _" Brooke said dramatically.

"You're having your date with destiny with a man you've been married to for 20 years?"

"Don't pop my happy bubble, Maddie" Brooke sighed.

"Sorry mom" Madison giggled, hugging her mother. "You look gorgeous…I wish I was that pretty"

"Aw Madison you're beautiful do you see all those men lusting after you?"

"Lusting? Hardly…Conrad basically begged me to break up with him"

"No he didn't…" Brooke said. "And if he did, then he's not worth it"

"Exactly what I told myself over and over again before breaking down into sobs" Madison said.

"Its ok…its your first time not with him, you know? You'll be fine, Maddie…and guys will love you"

"Promise?"

"Promise" Brooke giggled, hugging her daughter. "Now go, me and your father are leaving…watch your sister, ok?"

"Ok mom…how long will you and dad be?"

"Knowing your dad and I?" Brooke giggled.

"Good point…am I getting paid by the hour?"

"Madison!"

"Kidding mom" Madison laughed. "Bye…have fun…and remember, as much as I love Lena and Hayden, I don't want another sibling!"

"We'll remember that Maddie" Lucas laughed, hugging Madison. She waved them off as Lucas and Brooke made their way to the limo.

"You look sharp, Lucas" Brooke giggled, kissing him softly.

"You look absolutely stunning, Brooke…seriously…like I'm dying here"

"Aw! Lucas…" Brooke said. "Thank you…how sweet"

"Anything for you…shall we?" he asked, opening the door to their Lexus for her.

"We shall"

**A/N: Alright…not much to say lol but REVIEW! And that the reason this chapter was still cheesy was because it's the CALM before the storm, and believe me, the storm will be BIG! Big storm…big, big, big. Lol…ok review, please? I love you guys for all the reviews, but I only have like in the early 20s and my story's been up for like a month almost! Hehe…and my other one's been up for like a few days and already like broke 30…not that I mind at all! Review both! Lol this story is running dry anyway…it'll be ending pretty soon…anyway…REVIEW!**


	13. The Storm

**Ok guys…new chapter. It's gonna be kinda short, so yeah…**

"Daddy, don't!" Madison giggled, twisting as Lucas tickled her. "You know how ticklish I am!"

"Madison, I told you once I got my hands on you for spraying me with water I'd make you pay" Lucas laughed, stopping tickling her.

"What are you doing to my baby girl?" Brooke giggled.

"He's tickling me! I sprayed him with water" Madison laughed, sitting up.

"What? I missed that?" Brooke whined. "I hate dentist appointments"

"But they're the reason your teeth are so beautiful" Lucas said, kissing her. "And white"

"Still" Brooke grumbled.

"Poor mom…the injustices of life" Madison sighed dramatically. "Beautiful, with a loving husband and three children and straight white teeth and she missed out on spraying her husband with water"

"Oh Maddie…you should be an actress" Brooke giggled.

"I am...DIVA" Madison struck a pose in the middle of the room.

"Me too!" Brooke struck the same pose.

"You girls are nuts" Lucas laughed, snapping a picture with his camera.

"Whoa, what's that beeping noise?" Brooke asked. "It sounds like its coming from the phone"

"I don't know" Lucas said. "Probably from my camera"

"Yeah…omg dad did you seriously take a picture of that?" Madison exclaimed, running to see Lucas's camera screen.

"Uh huh- and I'll be sure to send a picture to all of your boyfriends" Lucas laughed.

"Dad!"

"And I'll post them up all over school" Lucas smiled mischievously.

"That sounds like something mom would do" Madison commented.

"Hmm…that is something I would do" Brooke said thoughtfully. "I've taught you well, Lucas"

"Well, I learned from the best" Lucas said, pulling Brooke into his arms and kissing her.

"Mama!" Lena cried from her crib.

"Baby…" Brooke sighed, breaking away from Lucas and going over to Lena's crib.

"Mama" Lena said, looking delighted at the sight of Brooke and resting her head on Brooke's shoulder.

"Aw…I love you too" Brooke giggled, rubbing Lena's back gently and sitting down on the bed.

"Dada" Lena giggled, stretching her arms out to Lucas.

"Hey baby girl" Lucas said, taking her from Brooke and kissing her. She giggled and grabbed Lucas's shirt.

"This one's got you wrapped around her finger" Brooke laughed.

"Hey! I hold that position" Madison said. "I have daddy wrapped around my finger"

"You all have me wrapped around your fingers" Lucas laughed. "Brooke, Madison, and Lena"

"Well…the girls outnumber the guys" Brooke giggled, hugging Lucas.

"Unfortunately…but what would I do without my girls?" Lucas asked.

"That's right" Brooke giggled.

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"Catherine! Hi" Anthony said, giving his girlfriend a tight hug.

"Hey Anthony" Catherine greeted, her eyes twinkling.

"Alright you guys enough cheesiness" Madison groaned. "Don't rub it in"

"Hey…we're cool" Catherine giggled.

"Uh huh"

"Dinner, everyone!" Brooke announced from her kitchen.

"You know, Brooke, I don't understand why you have a gourmet kitchen when you don't cook" Peyton commented.

"My gourmet kitchen is for my gourmet chef" Brooke giggled, ushering everyone in. At dinner, everyone was going on in their own conversations.

"Did you see his jump shot? It was weaker than yours, Luke" Nathan laughed.

"Oh shut up Nate" Lucas countered, a smile playing on his lips.

"Alright LADIES" Jake butted in.

"Dude, who're you to talk?" Nathan asked. Jake rolled his eyes but all three men knew they were on the verge of breaking out into laughter.

"Daddy, don't be mean to Uncle Jake!" Angelina reprimanded from her end of the table.

"Sorry, angel" Nathan apologized.

"And you call _me_ a girl" Jake laughed.

"Yeah well that girl has me wrapped around her finger like three times over"

"I know what you're talking about man…Catherine" Jake shook his head. "Cant say no to those hazel eyes…gets it from Peyton"

"Gets what from me?" Peyton asked, snapping to attention as she heard her name.

"Catherine gets her hazel eyes from you" Jake said.

"Oh…yeah she does" Peyton giggled.

"Yeah, and Mason-" Jake was cut off by a banging on the door. Lucas and Brooke got up, confused, to open the door. Three police offers barged in.

"We're here for the arrest of a Mr. Lucas Scott" an officer barked.

"What?" Lucas asked, shocked. What he saw next made his lip curl and his blood boil. "Dan…why am I being arrested?" Lucas asked. Brooke's eyes were wide open and she had a shocked look on her face.

"We're arresting you for child abuse" the officer stated, looking at Lucas like he was stupid.

"Child abuse? What shit are you spitting out, man? I haven't abused any child" Lucas said, genuinely confused.

"We'll read your rights to you in the car" the officer said, handcuffing Lucas. Tears trickled down Brooke's face, of confusion and hurt. Child abuse? A young officer, obviously baffled by Brooke's beauty, came over to Brooke.

"Are you Mrs. Scott?" he asked softly.

"Yeah"

"Look, Mr. Dan Scott will explain this to you, ok?"

"Ok" Brooke said. Everyone was insanely confused as to what was going on. Brooke ran to kiss Lucas and give him a hug. Lucas looked genuinely baffled and hurt.

"So…explain yourself, Dan" Nathan snarled.

"Well…I care about my grandchildren" he started. Jake snorted but let him continue.

"And I happened to accidentally leave a tape recorder in the phone in Lucas and Brooke's bedroom, because I got a warrant- I suspected something was going on. And I caught Lucas hurting Madison- on tape- wanna hear?"

"What?" Madison yelled. "Hurting me?"

"Its ok, honey, we'll get him prosecuted" Dan said. "You don't have to deny it"

"Ok seriously, mom, who is this man?" Madison asked, her voice shaking with emotion and anger.

"Wait what proof do you have of this?" Brooke asked, tears now coursing down her face.

Dan smirked and pulled out a tape recorder. He hit the play button and Madison's voice played loudly.

"Daddy, don't!"

"Lucas, what are you doing to my baby girl?"

"Madison, I told you once I got my hands on you for spraying me with water I'd make you pay!"

"Wait, that's all taken out of context" Brooke screamed. "And the piece of shit that our law enforcement is believed you? I'm going down to that police station!"

"No, Brooke, don't" Haley said, grabbing Brooke's arm.

"Why not! This asshole here is gonna land my innocent husband in jail for something he didn't do!"

"Brooke, you'll just make things worse"

"Oh…I'm gonna pound your face into a wall" Nathan spat, making a lunge for Dan.

"Daddy!" Angelina cried. Hearing his daughter's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Angel…I'm sorry" Nathan said, picking Angelina up and hugging her.

"I'm gonna go" Dan smirked, shutting the door behind him. They heard him laugh as he made his way out.

"Brooke…" Peyton came over to hug her. "I'm sorry, I know Lucas is innocent…Dan"

"Yeah…I know" Brooke sobbed. Nathan hugged Brooke tightly and she cried into his shoulder. Haley looked shocked and confused, and Hayden was dead silent. No one could process what was going on.

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"I am SO confused" Karen said, her bloodshot eyes puffy. Andy had a protective arm around her and they were both looking at the 5 friends in shock.

"Dan showed up with the police, and Lucas was arrested for CHILD ABUSE- he had a tape recorder in our phone- that's why it was beeping all day- and Lucas was tickling Maddie and she was yelling 'daddy, don't!' and we were all joking around and he took it completely out of context"

"And the police believed him?"

"Yeah!"

"Its ok, Brooke, we'll do something" Andy said. "Obviously he didn't hurt Madison"

"Yeah…obviously"

"Mom?"

"Yeah?" Brooke said, hugging Madison.

"Can I like, testify or something and tell the people that he didn't do anything? Cause he didn't!" Madison cried. "Why is Dan still after you and dad?"

"Because he's a heartless soul" Brooke said, her voice shaking. "Its ok…Andy's lawyer is on it…he has an appeal in three days…and you'll have to testify, Maddie"

"Good…I'll show this Dan idiot who not to mess with, and that would definitely be me" Madison said firmly, turning around to leave the room.

**A/N: I said big storm, huh? Lol…ok yeah I know the chapter is short, but the events in the chapter were so…touchy, that I didn't wanna write too much, you know? But remember this- very important- I am a sucker for cheesiness, I never let anything go seriously wrong, and everything ends happily 99.9 of the time…so stick with me- we all know Lucas! Hehe, and review!**


	14. The Good Always Prevail

"We are at the hearing of Lucas Eugene Scott, for child abuse of his 11 year old daughter Madison Caitlin Scott" the judge said importantly. "Will the accuser's attorney please speak now?"

"Yes sir" Dan's lawyer got up and cleared his throat. "Dan Scott over here suspected child abuse when he saw little Madison first. She was apparently very shook up and Mr. and Mrs. Scott ordered her and her cousin upstairs, and she was surprisingly obedient for an 11 year old- first signs of abuse- immediate obedience out of fear"

Brooke was shaking with anger and Lucas looked like he was going to blow a fuse. How dare they take the well behaved manner of their child and turn it into obedience out of fear! Madison looked angrier than both combined.

"Then several occurrences led him to believe Mr. Lucas Scott was abusing his oldest daughter- possibly the middle son and the youngest daughter"

Lucas almost felt like crying- he would never hurt his baby girl- why was HE, of all people, being accused of this?

"And now the defendant will present his case"

"I would like to call a witness to the stand- actually, the so called victim herself- Madison, please?"

"Ok" Madison said. Brooke squeezed her hand tightly and Madison made her way up to the stand. Lucas and her shared one of their 'special' glances, one that always gave her strength.

"Madison, will you swear on the Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes sir" Madison said. The judge smiled and Madison began speaking.

"I don't know this man very well- Dan Scott. I've heard his name vaguely thrown around in my life, but I never paid it much mind- it was just another Scott name I ignored. But when he popped into my life unexpectedly, then I finally learned who he was. See, I was told he was dead all my life, because he was a crazy man who kidnapped my older cousin, Anthony, for a couple days, and got sent to jail for a couple things more than just kidnapping" Madison said, shooting a replica of one of Brooke's famous icy glares at Dan.

"I asked my parents who he was, and they told me who he was- I didn't know he was as bad as they described him to be…but I guess so" Madison sighed. "But anyway, my point is, whose word are you going to take? This man is practically a villain- he's done more emotional damage than physical, so far as I've heard. My father would never do anything to hurt me, or mom, or Hayden, or Lena- he loves us way too much. What you heard, the videotapes, everything was taken out of context- he was _tickling_ me and we joke around like that all the time" Madison paused to smile at Lucas and Brooke.

"Miss Madison, would you please explain further the innocence of your father?"

"See, I don't get why I have to explain the innocence of an innocent man. All my life, my dad has been 'daddy', someone who'll always protect me and love me and hold me when I'm hurt and scared and laugh at mom with me and do fun stuff with me and get mad when I look pretty and I'm going out with a boy- my dad is my dad, I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would accuse him of hurting me- he loves me and I know that, no exceptions. I don't need to explain anything- I think I'm done, unless you have any questions" Madison stated.

"Yes…thank you, Miss Madison" the judge said, a smile playing across his lips. Brooke looked at the judge- she was positive Madison's testimony had him convinced.

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"We're on a lunch break?" Hayden asked, following Brooke out of the courtroom.

"Yes, baby boy, and you're gonna eat your lunch" Brooke laughed.

"But mom-"

"Haydie…can you just eat?"

"Yes, mom"

"Thank you…hey Maddie will you take Lenny?"

"Yeah! Hey Lenny baby" Madison cooed to her little sister. Lena giggled and rested her head on Madison's shoulder- something she only did with Brooke, Lucas, Hayden, and Madison.

"That was a good testimony, Madison" Alexis said, hugging her niece.

"Thanks- I hope it worked"

"Oh it definitely did" Brooke said. "I saw the look on the judge's face"

"Well, we'll let the jury decide" Karen said.

"Yeah…Lucas is innocent, though- and that is a damn good lawyer I've got" Andy said. "I'm confident Lucas will be let off"

"This is so stupid" Madison sighed. "I can't believe I have to testify against my father! My testimony better be enough to let Dad off"

"It will be, Maddie…don't worry" Brooke said, hugging her daughter.

"I hope"

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"So is your brother in law ok?" Lisa asked Matthew in a low whisper.

"Yeah…he's fine…they have a testimony today" Matthew said. "But that's besides the point"

"Ooh…right"

"Yeah…ok getting back to what we were doing" Matthew said.

"Yeah…ok I'm thinking pink balloons over there"

"What if it's a boy?"

"I don't care, Mat!" Lisa giggled.

"Ugh…fine" Matthew said, rolling his eyes at his younger cousin.

"Your poor son…corrupted with pink" Lisa giggled.

"If it's a boy- I swear, it'll be blue- and its just a baby shower!"

"A SURPRISE baby shower, Mat, you cant forget that"

"Right…ok, where were we?"

"How does Alexis deal with you?" Lisa asked quizzically.

"Huh?"

"Never MIND, Matt…just…write"

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"The jury has made it's decision" the judge announced. Brooke waited with bated breath- she hated those six words. A sudden sequence of high school events flashed through her mind.

_Junior year…_

"_The jury has made its decision…speaker of the jury…Lucas Scott?"_

"_Brooke Davis will be suspended for a week for possession and/or use of alcohol on school campus" Lucas choked out, looking at his beautiful girlfriend sitting in her seats, holding back tears._

_Sophomore year…_

"_The jury has made it's decision…Lucas and Brooke are NOT supposed to be together" Brooke heard Peyton giggle to Haley in the library behind the books._

_Freshman year…_

"_The jury has made its decision, Brooke Penelope Davis, and you are in a whole hell lot of trouble, missy!" her father yelled, brandishing his hand in front of her face._

"Due to circumstantial evidence and Miss Madison Scott's testimony, Lucas Eugene Scott is pronounced innocent and cleared of all accusations of child abuse" the judge said, and Brooke swore she could see a twinkle in his eye.

"YES!" Peyton, Haley, and Brooke jumped up and hugged each other, Madison, Anthony, and Catherine high fived each other, Lucas ran over to pull Brooke into a kiss, and all in all, it was a really happy time for the Scott brood- Dan was once again left last in the race.

"Come on, family- lets go home" Lucas smiled, wrapping his arms around Brooke and kissing the top of Madison's head. Nothing, of course, could be complete without Lena's acknowledgement of the situation with a loud boisterous "Dada!"

Dan Scott may be a ruthless monster with nothing but destruction of people's lives in his mind, Brooke decided. But the old saying _the good always prevail_ had a new meaning in the situation- because the good DO always prevail.

**A/N: see? Everything's ok! I told you drama didnt sit right with me forvery long!lol..Review, please! You guys have been soooo great! And this story'll be ending soon- I dont have much else really planned...i dunno how many more chapters, we'll see, but it'll be soon- its been dragged on pretty long..ok anyways review!**


	15. Best Friends Forever

The sound from the TV blared through the home theater and Madison was glued to the set.

"Madison Caitlin Scott! What are you watching?" Brooke demanded. "Ooh, Friends! I love this show!"

"I know…it's so funny" Madison said, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Brooke Scott, are you letting our 11 year old watch Friends?" Lucas asked, laughing as he walked into the room with Lena.

"Mama!"

"Baby" Brooke said, getting up and taking Lena from Lucas and then kissing her.

"Hey, where's my kiss?" Lucas pouted. Brooke placed a kiss on his cheek and he laughed and pulled her closer to him. Lena giggled because she was squashed in between Brooke and Lucas.

"Mama…" Lena whined.

"Yes Lenny sorry" Brooke giggled, rubbing her daughters back and kissing her.

"Dad! Guess what!"

"What?"

"I finished that huge science project, so I can enjoy my last week of spring break" Madison sighed sadly. "Last week"

"I'm sorry- summer vacation's right around the corner"

"Yeah- thank god!" Madison said.

"Oh by the way, the group is coming over tonight"

"Ok" Lucas laughed. "They come over every night"

"That's true" Brooke giggled. "Come on hot stuff- lets go do something fun"

"Like…"

"Do Lena's hair!"

"Brooke…"

"Lucas" Brooke pleaded.

"The things I do for you" Lucas laughed, kissing her.

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"So did you like the movie?" Anthony asked as him and Catherine left the theater.

"Oh yeah! It was so funny" Catherine giggled. "I was just randomly remembering when we used to play doctor, and we'd like make Maddie our patient"

"Yeah, and I was the rich doctor" Anthony laughed.

"You always made me be the nurse!"

"Well now it's like General Hospital- you and me are dating"

"Ooh, how scandalous" Catherine giggled.

"Is that you and Maddie's new word or something? Scandalous?"

"Yeah!"

"Ugh"

"Don't 'ugh' me, Anthony, it's an awesome word!"

"Fine…whatever" he laughed. Catherine pouted but Anthony hugged her and she smiled. "Walk on the beach?" he asked.

"Ooh, you know how to play your cards, Anthony Scott"

"Well, I learned from the best" he laughed, referring to Nathan.

"Yeah…you did" Catherine laughed. Anthony blinked and grabbed her hand.

"You look really pretty" he said softly.

"Thanks" Catherine beamed, jumping off the pier steps and onto the soft sand of the beach. The sun was setting and threw a golden glow on the horizon. "Gosh, it is so pretty outside!" she said.

"I know…it's like this time of year that the sun does that whole weird glow thing at around this time of day"

"Yeah…spring break-gosh, it's been interesting" Catherine laughed.

"Yeah…Uncle Luke getting arrested, Uncle Luke's trial, then being let off, and Alexis coming and…yeah, its been an eventful week and a half"

"I love that our spring break's long- 2 weeks!"

"I know…most people only have a few days"

"The thought of that makes me shudder" Catherine laughed. "Me and school aren't good friends"

"Seriously…Maddie is like a freaking genius though! That girl…" Anthony laughed. "Gotta love her"

"I know…and she's SO tiny"

"Like you aren't tiny, Catherine, I'm at least half a foot taller than you!"

"But you're tall like your dad…I'm short like my mommy" Catherine giggled.

"Mhmm" Anthony laughed.

"Shut up, Anthony!" Catherine laughed.

"Shutting up…" he answered, a smile dancing on his lips. Catherine stopped and turned to look at him, noticing how the setting sun threw his eyes into sharp perspective. Their eyes locked, and both of them, acting on their impulses, leaned in for a kiss.

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"Woo ho!" Brooke said, hugging Madison and high fiving her. "LUCAS BROODY SCOTT!" she yelled loudly.

"Whoa what, Brooke?" Lucas laughed, running into the room.

"Guess what?"

"Hmm?"

"We've got our first kiss!" Brooke shrieked.

"Wait Madison kissed Conrad like a month and a half ago" Lucas said, confused.

"I'm not talking about THEM, silly" Brooke giggled. "Anthony and Catherine!"

"Um…yay?"

"YAY is all you have to say! You realize me and Madison have been waiting for this since like…forever?" she asked, shrieking.

"Brooke, sweetie, that's wonderful" Lucas laughed, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. "But aren't you a little too old to be excited about some meaningless kiss between two preteens?"

"LUCAS! You know I like to relive my Jr. High and High School experience vicariously through Madison, Anthony, and Catherine…is there something wrong with that?"

"Um…kind of" he laughed. Brooke pouted but he laughed and kissed her forehead. "I love you anyway"

"Mama!" Lena giggled, blowing a kiss.

"Aw, SEE Lena knows what we're talking about" Brooke giggled, picking her daughter up.

"Yeah…well Lenny's a genius" Lucas laughed.

"Hello! Mom and I have some serious discussing to do, Daddy, so you can exit" Madison giggled.

"Fine, fine, I can see I am not wanted here" he laughed. "Hayden and me…we're gonna go shoot some baskets…if I can find him"

"Anyways" Madison said. "I'm so excited! Catherine called the instant she got home, because she didn't wanna like freak Anthony out by like shrieking and yeah…OMG I cant believe they kissed!"

"I know…I remember my first kiss" Brooke sighed. "It sucked, but it was exciting"

"You think this is Anthony's first kiss?" Madison asked, surprised.

"Yeah…isn't it?" Brooke asked suspiciously.

"No…that boy is a pimp!" Madison giggled.

"P.I.M.P!" Brooke shrieked, causing both of them to dissolve into hysterical laughter.

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"Haley…the soup is on fire!" Brooke yelled.

"Honey, the soup isn't on fire, its bubbling"

"Oh…"

"From the mind of a spoiled rich kid" Peyton laughed.

"HEY! I'm a spoiled rich WOMAN, thank you very much" Brooke giggled.

"Right…you act like a kid, Brooke" Nathan called from the couch.

"Shut up and eat your cookie" Brooke stuck out her tongue at Nathan, who laughed.

"Dude, leave my wife alone" Lucas laughed.

"Aw…you know I love you Brooke Scott"

"Mhmm…that's what they all say"

"Daddy!" Angelina yelled.

"Yes, angel?"

"I want that doll"

"Ok" Nathan laughed. "We can go get it later"

"Yay! Can I go swimming?"

"Alone?"

"No, Anthony and Maddie and Kitty are going in the hot tub"

"Sure, go ahead" Nathan laughed. Angelina giggled and ran to get her bathing suit from the car.

"Already, Maddie, twist that thing and the bubbles will come out"

"Which one?"

"Omg you should have been born blond, not Catherine"

"SHUT UP Anthony" Madison shrieked. "You do it!"

"Its your hot tub!" he defended.

"Guys" Catherine said, pointing at the hot tub which was already full of bubbles. "Bubbles"

"Right" Madison said, sitting down.

"I love your bathing suit, Maddie" Catherine said.

"I know! I like yours too…love the surf shop"

"I know! It has the best bathing suits"

"Where, the surf shop?" Brooke asked, climbing into the hot tub along with Haley and Peyton.

"AH! All girls!" Anthony groaned.

"Come on Anthony we'll go dive off the board" Lucas called. "Hayden and I are already halfway there!"

"K…bye girls, its been fun" Anthony laughed. Catherine blew him a kiss, and her and Madison giggled.

"So…what are we doing for the rest of spring break?" Brooke asked.

"I have an idea…" Haley said. "Hawaii!"

**A/N: ok…sorry, kind of short notice, but the story will end in like 2 chapters, so yeah…its getting done, and I'm gonna miss this story SOO much! Ah…and obviously NO trilogy to this story it has been milked to its potential lol, so yeah…and I'm gonna (for the time being) concentrate of We Belong Together, but I will DEFINITELY write more stories…probably Brucas ones…actually, DEF Brucas ones, but I think all my original ideas have been used up! Lol ok well to conclude this rant…REVIEW! Thanks  **


	16. Hawaii Here We Come!

**Ok ya'll since the story's ending pretty soon, I wanted to give a shout out and HUGE thank you to my regular reviewers (if I miss anyone, know I appreciate you anyway!) CCScott23, JamesLady4Ever, Brookescott044, and brucasnaleyluvr...and Crazychild2419, I read your review and it was SO sweet, I appreciate that very, very much and I'm glad you like my stories and stuff and it honestly made my day SO much better cause I was having a bad one lol. Even if I didn't mention you, I appreciate your reviews SOO much! Ok…onwards!**

"Maddie, where's our straightener?" Brooke called across the house.

"It's in my suitcase, mom, I have it!" Madison yelled back.

"Why do you need a straightener? You have straight hair" Lucas asked.

"Broody, there is a difference between naturally straight and straightener straight"

"Oh…ok?"

"Yes, ok" Brooke said. "Come on Lena, walk to mommy" Brooke said, motioning for her daughter to come over. Lena walked and grabbed onto Lucas's leg.

"Hey pumpkin" he laughed, picking her up.

"I can't believe she can walk" Brooke said, rummaging through her makeup bag and brushing her hair.

"Come on babe, you look beautiful" Lucas said, kissing the top of her head and looking at her in the mirror.

"Well if you SAY so" Brooke giggled, throwing her makeup into her huge Gucci purse and picking up Lena and her diaper bag. "Luke, can you grab your daughter?"

"Mhmm" he said, taking Lena from her. "Madison! Hayden! Get down here, the limo's leaving soon"

"Coming!" they chorused.

"Dad, did you pack my iPod charger?" Madison shrieked from the top of the stairs.

"I did, Maddie!" Hayden yelled. "In my suitcase"

"Ok" she called back, traipsing down the stairs.

"Ready?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah" she answered, following him and Brooke out the door, with Hayden in hot pursuit.

"So what are we gonna have when we get there?" Brooke asked her children.

"Fun!" Madison and Hayden replied unanimously, and Lena giggled and clapped.

"Are you gonna have fun, baby?" Brooke asked Lena.

"Yeah!"

"She says yeah, Lucas" Brooke giggled.

"That's exciting" Lucas laughed as they pulled up in front of Haley and Nathan's house.

"Maddie!" Catherine yelled, seeing her best friend. "Hawaii!"

"I _know_" Madison giggled, moving over to allow Catherine to climb in after Peyton.

"SO girls are we pumped or WHAT?" Brooke asked. Haley, Peyton, Madison, Catherine, and Angelina nodded.

"Too bad Lexy couldn't come" Madison sighed sadly.

"Pregnant women shouldn't fly" Brooke said.

"But she's gonna have to fly back home!"

"True" Brooke said. "But we're going to Hawaii!"

"Where are we staying?" Catherine asked.

"Ritz Carlton" Brooke laughed.

"Oh…of course" Madison giggled. "I can't wait to go to the beach!"

"I KNOW!" Catherine shrieked. "Tan, tan, tan"

"I know- Mom and I need to tan major, right mom?" Madison giggled.

"That we do girlfriend"

"I need to tan" Haley said, stretching out her arm.

"Shut up Haley you're like bronze!" Brooke whined. Peyton laughed and shifted a sleeping Mason.

"Mason looks thrilled about this trip" Brooke commented.

"He's thrilled…and tired" Peyton laughed, rubbing his back. "I hope he doesn't wake up, or he's gonna throw a fit, he wanted to go in the 'big boy' limo this morning"

"Aw that's so cute" Haley laughed.

"So Catherine…" Brooke said.

"Oh no…yes Aunt Brooke?"

"What's going on with you and Anthony?" Brooke asked. Peyton and Haley groaned…they hated hearing about their children's love lives. Brooke, on the other hand, fed off of it.

"Nothing in particular…we're going out" Catherine blushed.

"Well then" Brooke said. "I'll ask you in detail later, k?"

"Mhmm" Catherine giggled. Madison rolled her eyes and pulled her iPod headphones out of her ear.

"Mom loves to hear about our drama and love lives…I think she's missing Jr. High and High School" Madison said.

"Maddie!" Brooke said.

"It's true…"

"It is true" Brooke laughed. "But I do miss high school"

"You miss all the drama we had in high school?" Haley asked skeptically.

"No…I miss all the FUN we had in high school" Brooke sighed. "We can't even do stuff like that anymore"

"Like get drunk off our asses?" Peyton asked.

"Not so much that but the spontaneous things we did"

"Well this Hawaii business was spontaneous, wasn't it?" Haley asked.

"Yeah it was…that's what's making me miss high school and being young…so kiddos, make sure you enjoy being young cause it goes by very, very fast" Brooke advised importantly.

"Ok mom" Madison laughed, turning her iPod back on and settling back against the leather seats.

"Tired, Maddie?" Catherine asked.

"Exhausted" Madison answered. "I was on the phone all night"

"With?" Catherine asked.

"Anthony"

"Oh" Catherine smiled. "Did he say anything about me?"

"Say anything about you? He couldn't get off the subject of you and I was trying to tell him something important!"

"Aw did he really talk that much about me?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah! All he did was talk about you…Catherine this, Catherine that, Catherine did this, Catherine said that…I was about to hang up and let him continue talking about you to thin air"

"What did he say?" Catherine inquired.

"Do you want me to start?" Madison laughed. "It would take the plane flight from here to Hawaii and back"

"Fine, fine…all nice things?"

"All nice things" Madison assured her. "Now…I'm gonna sleep"

"Uh no you're not cause there's the airport" Brooke giggled.

"Ugh"

"Ugh is right…here, hold Lena" Brooke said, handing a sleeping Lena to Madison and climbing out of the limo. "LUCAS!"

"Yes babe?"

"Get your child so I can get her things" Brooke instructed. Madison handed Lena to Lucas and climbed out of the limo.

"I'm so excited" Anthony said. Seeing his girlfriend, he immediately walked over to Catherine and hugged her, causing her to jump with surprise.

"Anthony! Hi!" she said, turning around.

"Hey…excited about Hawaii?"

"Am I ever" Catherine said. "So, so excited"

"Hello dearest cousin" Madison said sarcastically, a smile playing on her lips as she dragged her carryon out of the limo's trunk.

"Hi Madison…did you hear, I talked her ear off last night"

"About me…I heard" Catherine smiled.

"I think Madison fell asleep in the middle of my story"

"Who wouldn't?" Madison asked. "I was thoroughly bored"

"Poor Maddie"

"Poor me" Madison sighed dramatically.

"You're such a drama queen, Madison" Lucas laughed, helping her with her carryon.

"Gets it from me, you know" Brooke giggled, elbowing Lucas and giggling again.

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"I hate planes" Madison whined. "My head hurts, dad"

"I'm sorry teddy bear…I think your mom has some Advil"

"Yeah I do…you want some, Maddie?"

"Yeah" Madison sighed. "I hate plane flights"

"You poor thing…I hate planes too" Brooke said.

"I love planes" Hayden said. "They're so fun!"

"No they're not" Madison said. "They're terrifying"

"Poor Madison" Brooke laughed, hugging her daughter. "It's ok…I hate planes too"

"Lenny likes them" Lucas pointed out, motioning to his daughter who was babbling happily.

"She's the odd one out" Brooke giggled. Lena completely ignored everyone and continued babbling to herself.

"Ugh…this plane flight is gonna be so long" Madison said.

"I know" Catherine sighed. "Lets play a game"

"Ok…what game?"

"Um…I dunno…I spy!"

"I'll go first" Lucas said. "I spy something starting with a b"

"Brooke!" Haley guessed.

"Yeah" Lucas laughed. Brooke giggled and took the lead.

"I spy with my very beautiful hazel eyes something starting with…c"

"Oh how easy…the carpet!" Nathan said.

"How'd you know that!" Brooke asked.

"I'm good like that"

"You know Scott that's why we never got along too well" Brooke said.

"Why didn't you get along well?" Haley asked quizzically.

"Because Nathan here is too much of jokester…see, I got the sweet one" Brooke giggled, kissing Lucas, who rolled his eyes and kissed her back.

"I got the jokester and you got the sweetheart…damn it I knew I shoulda pulled a best friends get married with Lucas" Haley whined.

"Haley!" Nathan said.

"I love you" she giggled.

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"We're in Hawaii!" Madison shrieked as she felt the plane bump down. "We're finally in Hawaii! After 9 long hours of plane flights, we're finally in Hawaii!"

"Madison, sweetheart, calm down" Lucas said, laughing.

"Lena…we're in Hawaii" Madison giggled.

"Maddie!" Lena giggled.

"Mhmm" Madison said, taking Lena from Lucas. "See, we're in Hawaii"

"Mama?"

"Over there" Madison pointed to Brooke who was brushing her hair and refreshing her lipstick.

"Brooke, honey, it's like 6 at night no one's gonna see you" Lucas laughed.

"A girl must look good, Lucas" Brooke said. "Very, very good…you see, I'm meeting my secret fiancé Billy Bob Lucas tonight"

"Oh no not Billy bob Lucas" Lucas groaned. "I've heard enough about him"

"Who's Billy bob Lucas?" Hayden asked, confused.

"Your mother's secret fiancé for the past 20 years"

"Shut up Lucas we're gonna get married eventually"

"She uses him as a threat when she wants something…or to simply tease me"

"I like to watch him squirm" Brooke informed Hayden importantly.

"Ok…Angelina, Anthony…lets move it along" Haley sighed. "Children"

"Mommy! I'm hungry" Angelina whined.

"Me too" Hayden chimed in.

"Me thwee mommy" Mason said to Peyton.

"Ok looks like the kids are hungry guys…we'll go get settled and then get dinner, ok?" Lucas told everyone. All the kids nodded.

"Maddie, are we going in the hot tub tonight?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah! You me and Anthony" Madison answered.

"Can I come?" Angelina asked.

"No!" Anthony said. "You can go play with Hayden and Mason and Lena"

"But they're babies"

"I'm not a baby!" Hayden protested.

"Kiddos…let your big brother and sisters do what they want, we'll have fun in our room, ok?" Brooke asked them.

"Ok" Hayden and Angelina sighed, shooting dirty looks at Madison and Anthony.

"Thanks mom" Madison whispered.

"No problem…so what room numbers are ya'll?" Brooke asked.

"Ok me and Catherine and Angelina are 211" Madison said, looking at her key.

"Hayden and I are..212" Anthony said.

"We're 216" Brooke said.

"We're 214" Peyton said, looking at her key.

"We're 213" Haley said.

"Ok…hey Haley?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can you hold Lena for a second?"

"Sure" Haley said, taking Lena.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah?"

"Race you!" he yelled taking off towards the hotel.

"Oh bring it on, Lucas, bring it on!" Brooke shrieked, taking off her stilettos and making a dash towards the curving entrance of the Ritz Carlton.

**A/N: Ok the next chapter's gonna be in Hawaii too…and it'll be the last one and then an epilogue…so review!**


	17. The Music in Our Hearts

**Omg! Last chapter…so sad. It's gonna be a short, short one…because short and sweet is my motto!**

"I can't believe it's our last night in Hawaii" Brooke sighed sadly.

"I know…and then school…and work" Peyton sighed.

"You don't work, Peyt" Brooke said, confused.

"Will let you let me have my dramatic moment?" Peyton cried.

"Sorry…work…and school for the kids" Brooke said sadly.

"Come on end the pity party, you guys are going shopping!" Haley said chirpily. "We'll have tons of fun and we have tons of souvenirs to buy!"

"Yay" Brooke said unenthusiastically.

"Brooke Scott, I have never heard you sound so down on shopping!" Haley exclaimed.

"I'm sorry…I love Hawaii…can we move to Hawaii?" Brooke pleaded.

"No sweetie we can't" Lucas laughed, coming in and pulling his wife into a hug. "I love you, ok? Have fun shopping and have lots of it…buy your heart out- you deserve it"

"Jeez I wish Nathan told me things like that" Haley said loudly.

"Same goes for you, babe" Nathan called from the couch.

"Lazy" Haley muttered.

"Haley!" Nathan cried. "We're on vacation"

"I love you?" Haley giggled.

"Mhmm" Nathan said, popping a cheeto in his mouth. "Is Angie going with you?"

"Yeah…all the GIRLS, Nathan, that would mean Angelina too" Haley giggled. "You wanna come?"

"No!"

"Fine, fine, let's cut the arguing slash disguised flirting and tell Madison which shirt looks better on her- maroon or green?"

"Maroon" Brooke, Haley, Peyton, and Catherine chorused.

"I don't like those shirts" Lucas whined.

"Why not?" Madison asked.

"Too revealing" he mumbled.

"Lucas, they're halters! And we're in Hawaii!" Brooke said.

"Fine, whatever…is Lena going with you?" Lucas asked.

"You think I'm going to lug a 1 year old around with me on my shopping day?" Brooke asked. "I love you, Lenny" she giggled at her daughter.

"Ok so I watch her today?" Lucas asked.

"Yep!"

"Ok" he sighed. "Bye…have fun"

"Bye babe"

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"Grand total of 5,000 dollars worth of shopping!" Brooke and Madison high fived in the limo.

"What did you BUY?" Peyton asked.

"Um…we raided the Gucci and Coach store?" Brooke said sheepishly.

"Omg…I got this adorable Dooney and Bourke purse" Catherine giggled. "Mom picked it out and it's SO cute"

"It is" Peyton agreed. "I love it…beware, Catherine, you just might never see it again"

"You should have bought yourself one"

"I should've" Peyton sighed.

"I'm excited about the luau!" Haley said.

"I know…roasting what is it, pigs over a fire?" Brooke asked sourly.

"Mm what's the matter with Brooke?" Peyton asked.

"I don't wanna leave!" Brooke whined.

"We'll visit" Peyton patted Brooke's shoulder.

"We will, mom, and it can be just the two of us" Madison suggested.

"Fine, fine" Brooke sighed, leaning against the leather. "If you say so"

"We love you, Brooke" Haley giggled. "Luau!" she shrieked.

"Hales…calm" Peyton said, rolling her eyes at Angelina who was giggling quietly.

"Are you corrupting my daughter against me?" Haley asked, cracking open an eye.

"You're way behind, Hales, I've already done that" Brooke giggled. Haley sighed and closed her eyes again. "My feet hurt"

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"Mm! This is good" Brooke said, biting into her pineapple.

"I think Brooke likes pineapples" Nathan joked.

"Shut up Scott Jr.! I'm married to Scott Sr. and he'll kick your ass" Brooke said.

"Ooh I'm terrified" Nathan mocked Brooke.

"Our parents are such children on vacation" Anthony laughed. "Hey Catherine, can we talk?" he asked. A worried look flashed across her face but she nodded and handed Madison her coke. Madison shot Anthony a warning glance but he shrugged it off.

"Ok what did you wanna talk about?" Catherine asked when they were at a safe distance.

"Well I was out souvenir shopping and I found this bracelet that I thought would be totally perfect for you" Anthony said, taking a bracelet out of a velvet box and opening it. Catherine Allison was inscribed in the back of an oval circle, which glittered with red stones.

"Anthony, it's so pretty" Catherine said, throwing her arms around him.

"Happy early birthday I guess?" he laughed.

"That was really sweet of you" Catherine smiled, hugging her boyfriend again.

"Turn it over" he laughed. On the back of it, in italic letters, it said _I love you._

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"Brooke…you wanna go on a walk with me?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah" she smiled. They took a winding trail down the white Waikiki beach.

"So did you have fun in Hawaii?" he asked.

"Yeah…so much. Thank you, Lucas…for all of this"

"Anything for you" he said, kissing the top of her head softly.

"Well…I'm gonna miss Hawaii" Brooke said sadly.

"Hey…wanna dance?" Lucas asked.

"Sure…but there's no music, Lucas" Brooke laughed.

"I don't care…you said the same thing that one day on the basketball court 8 years ago, but we danced anyway, didn't we?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah…and we had fun" Brooke said, remembering the rainy day.

"That's right…come here" Lucas said, pulling her to his chest. Right there, under the bright stars, in the warm Hawaiian breeze, Brooke and Lucas danced to music that wasn't even there…they danced to the music that they heard in their hearts, they danced to the music and harmony that had been theirs throughout the course of their life and marriage…the music and harmony that would be played over and over again silently…never heard, but always there.

**A/N: Well…that was the ending of my sequel...Again, I cried. God I'm having like a crying day lol…yeah but anyway, hope you liked the last chapter and then I'll post the epilogue, and then this story will be done. Gosh I cant imagine like never writing about Madison or Anthony or Catherine again in the context of this story…what would ya'll think about me writing a story about Madison and Catherine and Anthony's lives? Tell me if the story's been milked to its potential lol…NOW I'm gonna go all Hallmark on you…Thank you every single reviewer that ever reviewed, no matter how short or how long- you were the reason I continued with the story even when I felt frustrated with the plot or storyline or whatever…thank you for reading, for sticking with the story through its uh…"dark" times, and thank you for being SO supportive! I'll always appreciate that!**


	18. Epilogue

Everyone returned from Hawaii the next night, healthy and happy and relaxed, ready to go back to work and school.

Of course, Brooke and Lucas being Brooke and Lucas, had their last and final child, a little girl named "Brooke" after her mother.

Haley and Nathan didn't have anymore children, being perfectly content with their two.

Peyton and Jake didn't have or adopt anymore children.

Lucas, Jake, and Nathan retired 3 years later from the team. All three opened a basketball intensive training camp for boys and girls who wanted to make it into the professionals.

Brooke, Haley, and Peyton opened a dance studio for girls (and boys, Haley insisted), with ballet its primary concentration.

Madison and Conrad never got together, neither did Madison and Adrian. Maddie insisted she was fine alone.

Catherine and Anthony dated for a long time, broke up, and then dated again to end up engaged and got married in (where else?) Waikiki, Hawaii.

_As we go through life, we find that we hit rocks, we hit bumps, and sometimes we trip and fall. Life is a journey, not a destination. Life is an experience, not a feeling. Life is difficult, and destructive, and blissful and beautiful all at the same time. But there's one thing in life that you can't live without- your friends, and your family._

And that's exactly what thesix friends and their children learned. When you trip and fall, your friends and family are there to bend over and pick you up.


End file.
